The turn out of devotees increased considerably on the fourth day of the Dasara festivities at th Kanaka Durga temple here on Sunday.
The presiding deity was decorated as Annapoorna Devi.
The rituals began with suprabhata seva at 3 a.m. and continued upto 8 a.m. The priests offered bala bhoga nivedana and performed regular poojas.
The rush suddenly increased following closure of schools and colleges for the Dasara festival.
Serpentine queues
There were serpentine queues as the crowds swelled by the hour. The queue reached the Ashoka pillar downhill. Devotees thronged the ghats from early hours.
The heavy rush continued till afternoon, and dropped thereafter. The rush again picked up in the evening.
According to temple officials, more than 72,000 devotees had darshan. As many as 83,800 laddus were sold.
The sale of pulihora also touched 46,180 packets. Close to 4,750 people purchased ₹300 tickets, while more than 10,400 devotees purchased ₹100 tickets.
At the Mallikarjuna Mahamandapam, the devotees who took part in the kumkum archana seva became restless as they were stopped in the queue line.
They raised slogans against temple Executive Officer (EO) A. Surya Kumari.
The EO rushed to the spot and pacified them.
Cine actor and writer Gollapudi Maruthi Rao visited the temple.
Speaking to reporters, he recalled he worked in the temple five decades ago. “I have 57 years association with the temple. I worked as an employee here,” he said.
Kanaka Durga temple Trust Board Chairman Y. Gouranga Babu inaugurated the annadanam at the Appana Venkata Krishnaiah Dharma Satram.
Satram trustee Appana Satya Saibabu was present.
