2 lakh devotees throng Bara Shahid dargah

An estimated two lakh pilgrims visited the Bara Shahid dargah on Wednesday, the second day of the ‘Rottela Panduga’ festival in Nellore. The total footfalls are expected to go up to 10 lakh during the four-day festival.

The second day of the festival saw a surge of devotees making a variety of wishes. Many youths seeking software jobs and visas were seen buying the roti from the stall. Special hoardings were erected with the titles ‘Videsiyana roti’, ‘Arogya roti’ and so on near the Swarnala Cheruvu where the pilgrims came to have a sacred bath. Students and professionals having plans to go abroad exchanged rotis at the ‘Videsiyana roti’ point. “Our wishes will come true if we pray here and we are sure of this,” said Abdullah, who came here all the way from Hyderabad. However, the ‘MLA and MLC rotis’ which used to be sold like hot cakes in the election year was not seen this year. Municipal Administration and Urban Development Minister P. Narayana would be receiving rotis for ‘Rashtrabhivruddhi’ (AP development) on Thursday. Accompanied by Mayor Abdul Aziz and senior TDP leader Chatla Narasimha Rao, he inspected the pilgrim amenities near the dargah on Wednesday. He asked the municipal sanitary staff to work round-the-clock to remove garbage. Long queues were seen at the dargah with the pilgrims making a beeline for visiting the tombs of the 12 slain warriors seeking their blessings. Rottela Panduga dargah committee made special arrangements for the ‘Gandha Mahotsavam’ on Wednesday night .