Visakhapatnam: For Balireddy Sailaja, a homemaker from Marripalem — as for lakhs of Vizagites — the annual ‘Giri Pradakshina’ (GP), a 32-km walk around the Simhachalam temple on a full moon day, is a not-to-be-missed event. Officials are currently giving final touches to the arrangements for this year’s GP, which will begin on the afternoon of Monday, July 18. It starts at the foothills of Simhachalam, via Adavivaram, Arilova, Jail Road, Hanumanthavaka, Madhavadhara, NAD junction, Goalapatnam and back to the Simhachalam temple.
Devotees believe that they gain religious merit by walking around the temple on the auspicious day of Guru Poornima, which is called ‘Giri Poornima’ here. This was a low-key observance until 2000, with there even being instances of the police questioning devotees’ motives in executing the ritual walk. But in 2007, everything became more streamlined with the Simhachalam Devasthanam extending a bundle of services, such as restrooms, medical aid, shelters and refreshments, to devotees. They even introduced a flower-adorned chariot of the god to add colour to the proceedings.
The Devasthanam apart, the district administration, Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC), APSRTC, police, health department and EPDCL have also been contributing their bit to the GP every year. In both 2014 and 2015, the temple registered about 3 lakh footfalls on the occasion and officials are expecting the number to go up to 4 lakh this year. Temple executive officer K. Ramachandra Mohan explained that they were going all out to make the devotional walk a memorable spiritual experience for the people. "All arrangements are in place and we are doing everything possible to make the event a huge success," he added.
