Vijayawada: Bhavani devotees who reached the city in the early hours of Wednesday to conclude their mandal deeksha suffered as there were no arrangements or sheds for their shelter during night time. They are forced to sleep in the open at several places near Prakasam barrage and take a holy dip in River Krishna in the early morning.
As the temple set up 12 Prasadam counters in Kanakadurga Nagar, laddu preparation and homagundam near Mallikharjuna Mahamandapam, no space is available to provide shelter for the devotees. As a result, the devotees are forced to sleep in open places available near the Prakasam barrage.
Thousands of devotees visited the temple on the third day of Deeksha conclusion on Wednesday. The devotees were seen making giri pradakshina in the early morning along with their family members and reached the temple to offer prayers to the presiding deity before concluding their deeksha.
The devotees made giri pradakshina chanting slogans of Jai Bhavani and Jai Durga Bhavani. They concluded their deeksha by placing the offerings of irumudi in homagunda near Mallikharjuna Mahamandapam.
The guru swami present at the homagundam removed the Deeksha mala of the devotees. The temple authorities arranged free food to the devotees at Sankara Matham. The devotees purchased more than one lakh laddus by Wednesday evening.
The city police made elaborate arrangements to prevent stampede of devotees. They maintained queue lines and allowed the Bhavanis in queue right from Vinayaka temple. The temple authorities are expecting more number of Bhavani devotees on the last two days of deeksha conclusion including December 26 and 27.
More than five lakh devotees are expected to visit the temple on Friday, the last date for concluding Bhavani deeksha. Keeping in view the heavy rush of devotees the police are making additional security arrangements by deploying additional forces.
