All roads led to Sri Kanakamahalakshmi temple at Burujupeta since wee hours on Thursday as devotees were allowed for darshan from midnight after special rituals, panchamrutha abhishekam, sahasranama archana and ksheerabhishekam, were performed to the presiding deity.
Temple authorities, anticipating huge rush for Margasira Thursdays which are considered auspicious, made elaborate arrangements for hassle-free darshan for devotees. As queue lines spilling beyond Town Kotha Road in the morning, the police swung into action and immediately diverted the traffic ahead of the Kotha Road. However, old and physically challenged were allowed to go till temple main gate and as special queue line was facilitated for them they could have darshan in less than 30 minutes.
This year, in addition to queue lines of ₹ 20, ₹ 100 and ₹ 200, there is ₹ 500 queue line for special quick darshan. However, till evening only 90 tickets of ₹ 500 were sold. The authorities expressed confidence that the demand would increase in next Thursdays, especially on third and fourth Thursdays. With the road leading to the temple from Kotha Road closed for traffic it looked like a walking street with petty vendors all along presenting a festive atmosphere.
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Most of the devotees were a happy lot as they could have darshan in less than three hours and they appreciated the authorities for ensuring smooth flow of queue lines. A middle aged housewife Rajeswari, who visited the temple along with her family, said they prepared for a long wait for darshan. But they could have darshan within two and a half hours, she said with glee.
Among those who worshipped the deity in the early hours include Visakha South MLA Vasupalli Ganesh Kumar, Executive Officer S. Jyothi Madhavi, temple committee chairman W Bhaskara Rao, Endowments RJC Trinadha Rao and others. Speaking on the occasion Mr. Ganesh Kumar promised to extend all help for development of the temple.
The devasthanam operated free buses to transport people from different parts of the city to temple free of cost. Special counters were arranged for sale of prasadam. The Executive Officer said special care was taken to put all arrangements in place well in advance for the month-long festival. Ms. Jyothi Madhavi said the number of devotees would increase in the next two weeks.
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Assistant Executive Officer V. Rambabu said as part of nitya anndanam 5,000 devotees were provided food on Thursday. School students, volunteers of Srivari Seva and others were seen helping devotees in queue lines by giving them drinking water and butter milk.