The New Year celebrations that began from Saturday midnight were peaceful in the district.
Wine shops saw heavy rush since Saturday evening and people celebrated the New Year by cutting cakes and bursting firecrackers.
On Sunday morning, temples across the district were thronged by devotees for special pujas while government employees, workers and general public visited the camp offices of District Collector and Commissioner of Police to greet them. Collector Yogitha Rana and Commissioner of Police Kartikeya wished them well and distributed sweets. Mr. Kartikeya met Ms. Rana and District Principal and Sessions Judge K. Sujana on the occasion and extended greetings.
Meanwhile, differently-abled children of a special school run by Sneha Society participated in the New Year celebrations at the Collector’s camp office.
Commandant Y. Srinivas Rao along with his police personnel celebrated the occasion by cutting a cake at TSSP 7th Battalion at Dichpally.
Special prayers at
Medak Church
Staff Reporter adds: As the clock struck twelve, special prayers were offered at the Church of South India (CSI) located in the district headquarters.
According to Joy Murray, pilgrims manager at the Church, Reverend Y. Robinson offered prayers which continued till 1.30 a.m.
The prayers were held in the main hall and a large number of devotees participated. Morning prayers were held at 10 a.m. More than 60,000 devotees took part in the New Year prayers and the flow continued till late in the night.
Heavy rush at temple
Special Correspondent adds: Sri Raja Rajeshwara Swamy Devasthanam in Vemulawada in Rajanna-Sircilla district witnessed heavy pilgrim rush on the occasion of New Year celebrations here on Sunday.
Since the early hours, the devotees thronged the shrine and formed serpentine queues after taking a holy dip in the tank (dharmagundam) for darshan of the presiding deities. The devotees conducted various rituals such as ‘kode mokku’, ‘abhishekams’, ‘kumkum archana’ etc.
The temple authorities had colourfully decorated the shrine for the occasion. The authorities said that the devotees’ rush would continue on Monday, which was an auspicious day for offering prayers to Lord Siva.
