The COVID-19 scare has cast its shadow on the Suguturu Gangamma Jatara, with the two-day fair at Punganur town in Chittoor district turning a lacklustre affair.
The annual event that commenced on Tuesday night at the local royal palace witnessed a few thousands of devotees, as against the usual crowd that runs into lakhs. The festival concludes in the early hours of Thursday with the immersion of the processional deity.
The jatara, with dates back to over 300 years, attracts devotees not only from the western mandals of Chittoor, but also from several parts of Karnataka. When the zamindari system was at its peak, the Punganur samsthan saw its glory. After the system disappeared, the zamindar families left Punganur, settling down in Bengaluru, Chennai and other cities in the north, while some families migrated to foreign countries.
The families of the erstwhile zamindari establishment visit Punganur a couple of days prior to the event to participate in the special rituals and pujas to the deity at the palace, which is under the control of government. Hundreds of families in Punganur and surrounding villages invite their relatives. Since a decade, the two-day witnessed a turnout of close to four lakh.
The COVID-19 scare this time resulted in the attendance dwindling to a few hundreds. Every year, tents used to be erected on the outskirts to accommodate the guests. Usually, about 10,000 goats and sheep will be sacrificed in two days, but this year the figure fell to a below 1,000.
Murali, a local resident, said that for the first time in the history of Punganur jatara, guests from other places did not visit the town. “Owing to coronavirus scare, many families that settled abroad have kept off the jatara. From Bengaluru alone, 40,000 people arrive here, but this time, the arrival is not even a thousand,” he said.
A senior priest said it was for the first time that he saw the jatara almost deserted. “Concerning public health, the decision of devotees to avoid coming here is appreciable, but it is unfortunate that this historical jatara had to bear the brunt of the dreaded virus,” he said.
Meanwhile, a fair that was set up as part of the event looked deserted on Wednesday. The migratory groups, which set up stalls are a disappointed lot, complaining that they could not even get money enough to arrange for the transportation of the material to their next destination.
The municipal authorities also were active in creating awareness among the local people to desist from inviting relatives from other areas. As Punganur jatara heralds the annual “jatara season” in the district, its poor turnout is likely to affect the other festivals this summer, in Tirupati, Chittoor, Madanapalle and Srikalahasti.
