All arrangements have been made for the annual Chandanotsavam of Sri Varaha Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy, the presiding deity of Simhachalam, to be held on Sunday. Over one lakh devotees are expected to participate in the festival as it is only during this day of the year, the ‘Nijaroopam’ (original form) of the deity can be seen by devotees.
The idol would be covered with sandalwood paste during the rest of the year. The festival will begin with the Hereditary Trustee P. Ashok Gajapathi Raju and his family members having darshan at 3.30 a.m. on Sunday. It would be followed by the offering of pattu vastrams by the government and the TTD. Sarva darshan (free darshan) would commence at 4 a.m. Protocol VIPs would be allowed for darshan between 5 a.m. and 7 a.m. and again from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. The queue lines would be closed by 7 p.m. However those who are already in queue by that time would be allowed to have darshan till the last person in the queue.
Sahasraghatabhishekam would be performed at 8.30 p.m. and 11 p.m. Abhishekam and other Vedic rituals would be performed to the deity.
Temple Executive Officer V. Trinad Rao said that in view of the limited parking place on the hill, only vehicles with ‘Duty Pass’ and those with ‘Protocol VIP passes would be allowed on the ghat road. Devotees coming for darshan can park their vehicles at the designated spots on the foothill at Old Adavivaram Junction, Gurukul School and Gosala Junction.
Private vehicles will not be allowed on the ghat road from 6 p.m. on Saturday. The temple authorities have arranged four Devasthanam buses, and hired an additional 56 RTC buses to provide free transportation to devotees from the foothill to the hilltop from Gosala junction (Simhachalam) from 3 a.m. on April 23. Devotees possessing ₹1,000 and ₹1,500 tickets would be picked up from Old Adavivaram Junction and would be taken up the hill through the second ghat road to the hilltop by special mini buses. Buses will ply from 4.30 a.m. to 5.30 p.m. from the foothill to ferry devotees. After 5.30 p.m. devotees will not be allowed to go to the hilltop. Empty buses would be allowed through the second ghat road to transport devotees, already in queue lines atop the hill, to the foothill on completion of darshan.
The authorities have made arrangements for the sale of ‘prasadam’ at Old Gosala and Adavivaram Junctions. All devotees have to enter the queue lines before 7 p.m. on Sunday. ₹1,000 and ₹300 tickets would be sold atop the hill on April 23 and this year they can also be obtained online from the website www.aptemples.ap.gov.in
Devotees coming for darshan should wear only traditional clothes. An information counter with phone no. 0891-2784949 has been arranged at the foothills and another atop the hill with the phone no. 0891-275666 or mobile no. 6303800738.
Police Commissioner C.M. Trivikrama Varma said in a statement that 2,100 police personnel and officers would be on bandobust duty for the smooth flow of traffic and prevention of crimes like eve teasing, pickpocketing and chain snatching. Police personnel would be in mufti at important points.
Meanwhile, Additional DCP (Traffic) Sheik Arifulla told the media on Friday that devotees would be allowed to go up the hill only by buses arranged by the temple authorities. He appealed to the devotees to park their vehicles only at the designated places on the foothill. He also appealed to the residents of Simhachalam and nearby areas to avoid using their vehicles between Old Gosala and Adavivaram junction, except in emergencies, on Sunday. However, in genuine cases of emergency the residents could use their vehicles by showing their Aadhaar card.
