Hyderabad: Lakhs of devotees from Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and other parts of the country are expected to take a holy dip in Godavari on the occasion of Maha Pushkaralu beginning Tuesday.
The Godavari Maha Pushkaralu, on the lines of the “Maha Kumbhamela”, occurs once every 144 years and this time it’s being celebrated for 12 days, from July 14 to 25.
The normal Pushkaralus are celebrated every 12 years at 12 sacred rivers of India based on the zodiac signs. A holy dip in the river during Pushkaralu is believed to free one from all sins.
TS Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao will launch the first Pushkaralu in the temple town of Dharmapuri in Karimnagar district by taking a dip in the holy river along with his family members on Tuesday at 6.26 am. Other than Cabinet Ministers, MPs, legislators and other VIPS, Jagadgurus of various Peethadipathis will accompany the Chief Minister.
AP Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, along with his wife Ms Bhuvaneshwari and others, will take a dip at Rajahmundry at 6.21 am.
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The Godavari river travels 1465 km from Triambakeshwar in Nasik, Maharashtra to Telangana, Chhattisgarh and ends at Antarvedi in East Godavari in Andhra Pradesh, before joining the Bay of Bengal, touching several famed temples situated along its banks.
With continuous dry spells since the onset of the monsoon in June and with the Maharashtra government yet to accede to the TS government’s plea to release waters from its dams for the holy dip, water scarcity looms large at many places, especially at the famous Gnana Saraswathi Temple in Basar in Adilabad and Kandakurthi in Nizamabad district.
Some water, however, has been released from Babli dam and other projects. In Telangana, the major Pushkara ghats are in Basar (Adilabad district), Dharmapuri (Karimnagar), Kandakurthi (Nizamabad), Kaleswaram (Karimnagar) and Bhadrachalam (Khammam).
In all, the T-government has set up 106 Pushkara ghats for the pilgrims, pressing in 2300 special buses from all corners of Telangana, 134 special trains, CC cameras, hundreds of cops to ensure security and volunteers to regulate the surging crowds. Teams of doctors and paramedical staff and sanitation workers have also been drafted.
The AP government has set up over 100 Pushkara ghats in East and West Godavari districts.
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TS and AP tourism are running special interstate buses for the festival. The TS government has earmarked '600 crore for the Godavari Pushkaralu.
“We expect about 3 crore people to participate in Godavari Pushkaralu. There is sufficient water for the Pushkaralu at Dharmapuri, Kaleshwaram and Bhadrachalam but there’s a shortage in Basar and Kandakurthi. We are making alternate arrangements like showers if there is water scarcity at Pushkara ghats,” said Dr K.V. Ramanachary, advisor to government, Endowment and Media affairs on Monday.
Asked if Maharashtra had agreed to release waters, he said that the Chief Minister and the irrigation minister had spoken to their Maharashtra counterparts and a reply was awaited.
Endowments minister A. Indrakaran Reddy, who offered prayers at Basar Saraswathi temple on Monday, said all arrangements had been made for pilgrims to take a dip in the Godavari.
