District Collector A. Mallikarjuna said that all arrangements are being made for the annual ‘Chandanotsavam’ event of Sri Varaha Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy at Simhachalam temple, scheduled on May 10. He said that the district administration would conduct a trial run involving all the departments from 2.30 p.m. on May 9.
Addressing a press conference at the Collectorate, Mr. Mallikarjuna reiterated that due to the Model Code of Conduct (MCC), there will be no ‘antarayala’ darshanam and no protocol darshan this year. He said that temple ‘dharmakarthas’ and the Endowments Department officials will have the darshan from 3.30 a.m. to 4.30 a.m., and later regular devotees will be allowed for darshan. “We expect around 1.50 lakh devotees to participate in the festival this year,” he said.
He said that around 6 km barricading was arranged as part of queue lines for the devotees. ‘Shamianas’ are being arranged along the queue lines to protect devotees from the summer heat. This apart, cool paint will be used where there is no overhead cover.
The Collector said that ticket clearing teams were being arranged with 10 scanners. Last year, around 30,000 tickets of ₹1,500 and ₹1,000 denominations were sold. This year, the tickets were limited to 20,000, he said. At the exit points, they have arranged mesh to prevent reverse entries, he added.
Mr Mallikarjuna also said that in view of heat, drinking water points are being arranged at around 160 places. A number of seva organisations will be providing buttermilk, he said. Toilets are being arranged at around 250 points, while medical points are arranged at 60 places including at steps route and at parking place.
Police Commissioner A. Ravi Shankar said that over 2,000 police personnel are being deployed as part of bandobast for the festival. This apart, rope parties are also going to be used at some places like bus parking.
“A Command Control Room is being set up with officials from 10 departments. A special team will be available to monitor the CCTVs and communicate with officials on ground whenever required,” he said.
Mr. Ravi Shankar said that detailed traffic planning was done in view of past experiences. Parking slots were facilitated at various places for the devotees. Forty mini buses and 50 RTC buses will be ferrying devotees to the hill, he said, adding that four towing vehicles are also being arranged at several locations on the hill.
He said that senior IPS officers and those experienced in traffic monitoring are being arranged at various places to monitor the entire operation.
