Three lakh pilgrims have Giri Pradakshina
A devotee shows the insect that was found in the prasadam at the Simhachalam temple on Friday. (Photo: DC)
Visakhapatnam: Devotees of Lord Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Giri Pradakshina were taken aback when they found insects in laddus and pulihora prasadam on Friday. The tired devotees who had walked over 32 kilometers and deprived of basic facilities were upset with the scant arrangements made by the temple autho-rities and upon that the insects in the prasadam offered by the temple authorities.
HRD minister Ganta Srinivasa Rao, who was informed of the incident immediately, expressed anguish and asked executive officer P. Ramachandra Mohan to personally supervise the preparation of laddus and pulihora. Meanwhile, contrary to the claims made by the district authorities of providing all facilities for devotees who has completed their 32-km-long trek around the Simhachalam hill marking the Giri Pradakshina on Friday morning had faced a lot of troubles.
The devotees were forced to wait hours for darshan of Lord Sri Varaha Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy and also waited hours for buses to return from Simhachalam temple to other places in the city as few RTC buses plied in the route.
The devotees who had a darshan of the Lord after going round the hill had a horrible experience due to the poor public transport and traffic congestion on the road with autorickshaws and other private vehicles. Traffic came to a standstill at Simhachalam for more than two hours as most of the autorickshaws and other private vehicles blocked the roads. Sources said that for this time the devotees turnout has touched nearly three lakh for Giri Pradakshina while the number was only two lakh last year. Moreover, cops have failed to regulate the traffic in the area that has led to utter chaos. Pilgrims who came from Srikakulam, Vizianagaram and neighbouring Chhattisgarh said that the authorities have washed off their hands in providing faculties and also in regulating the traffic.
Taking advantage of the situation, the autorickshaw men cut the pockets of the pilgrims by charging more money for short journeys. Following the criticism from the pilgrims, the RTC has run more buses and cleared the rush by the evening.
( Source : deccan chronicle )
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