Devotees were forced to walk over 2-km at Dharmapuri to find bathing ghats on the outskirts of city
A man dressed as Lord Rama at Bhadrachalam pushkar ghat on Wednesday. In the wake of Rajahmundry stampede, pilgrims from Andhra Pradesh thronged Bhadradri.
Karimnagar: The second day of Godavari Maha Pushkaralu passed off peacefully in the district. Devotees participating in the holy dip have been increased manifold at several venues of the event, thanks to special trains operated by South Central Railways. However, following traffic restrictions, the devotees faced hardships in reaching the bathing ghats from outskirts of towns and villages that are hosting the river fete.
Devotees from several districts of state and neighbouring Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra began taking a holy dip in the sacred river near the temple town of Dharmapuri from 4 am onwards. On Wednesday, the flow of devotees drastically increased, compared to the first day of the event. They were forced to walk over 2 km to find bathing ghats from the outskirts of Dharmapuri as police prohibited vehicles inside the town.
Likewise, thousands of devotees and pilgrims belonging to several parts of state and country had a holy dip at the confluence of Godavari, Pranahita and mystic Saraswati from the early hours until afternoon. Jagtial sub-collector D. Krishna Bhaskar said that they were organising additional drinking water facilities with the help of Karimnagar District Cooperative Central bank (KDCC) and other agencies. “KDCC came forward to put up mineral water stalls in Dharmapuri. At the same time, sign boards will be erected advising people not to waste drinking water,” he added.
Officials paid special attention on crowd management and barricading following the horrific incident in Rajahm-undry. Police personnel and expert divers have been deployed at bathing ghats for avoiding incidents of drowning.
Steps to prevent short circuit:
Alerted by Rajahmundry stampede in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana government is taking steps to prevent possible untoward incidents like electricity short circuits at major temples on Godavari banks.
The Chief Minister’s Office has issued instructions to collectors asking them to focus on possible incidents of electricity short circuit in major temples on banks of river Godavari where hundreds of devotees stand in long queues for a darshan of gods and goddesses.
Officials concerned will also focus on loose electricity lines posing threat to people’s lives especially in temple towns where Godavari Pushkaralu is going on in five districts of the state. State government is taking these steps in the wake of rains at some places and anticipating good rains in a few days’ time.
A short circuit, owing to soggy weather might lead to panic among the hordes of gathered devotees leading to yet another stampede. Transco officials have been asked to check if there is any wrong electricity wiring in the temple premises and rectify those problems immediately.
Collector M. Jagan Mohan said that short circuits can occur due to leaking rainwater dripping into wrong electricity wiring or switch boards. He asked B. Ashok, superintendent engineer of Transco, Adilabad, to keep a tab on devotees standing in the queue lines and check the risk factors as far as electricity is concerned in and around Basar temple and rectify the electricity problems.
( Source : deccan chronicle )
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