The tide of ever-increasing flow of devotees continued for the third day — it being the most auspicious Friday when both the deities Sammakka and Sarakka adorn the altar at this tiny Medaram village.
The barricades extending to long distances were full and people jostled to move ahead. At the VIP line there was chaos for a while as hundreds broke the line and rushed towards altar from the VVIP route near the watch tower. Police had very tough time controlling the crowds.
Police blocked the flow of devotees and diverted them to other entrances. Some side exits got turned into entrances as police diverted people from the queue line to ease the flow and avoid a stampede. At least 70 lakh devotees attended the Jatara so far, according to officials. There was continuous flow of devotees through the night and day.
Devotees filled either side of the Jampannavagu along its stretch for nearly four kilometres beyond the bathing ghats. To help the devotees, huge shelters were built at various points and they were all over crowded. Temporary settlements could be seen up to over an extent of seven square kilometres.
Traditional attire
There were numerous processions by devotees who were dressed in traditional tribal attire as they arrived at the altar. The devotees who came near the altar hurled coconuts, turmeric and vermilion packets, rice wrapped in towels, new sarees and towels, coins and currency notes in large numbers. The altar got full several times and the endowment staff cleared the offerings and packed them in bags. Of the 534 hundis, nearly 100 were full which were shifted from the altar and new ones were placed inside for devotees offering money.
The officials had a hard time controlling the huge crowds and also maintaining the sanitation. District Collector R V Karnan, IG Y. Nagi Reddy, SP S. S. G. Patil and other officials were seen moving around monitoring the proceedings of the jatara.
Return journey
The lucky ones who had darshan of the deities began returning to their destinations on bullock carts, tractors and buses singing and hailing the goddesses.
Panchayat Raj Minister Errabelli Dayakar Rao and Tribal Welfare Minister Satyavathi Rathod inspected several areas of Medaram to ensure that devotees did not face any difficulty.
