Andhra Pradesh: 14,488 Volunteers Register For Godavari Pushkaralu-2027
The figure is significantly higher than the 5,368 volunteers from 30 voluntary organisations: Godavari collector Keerthi Chekuri
KAKINADA: As many as 14,488 volunteers from 39 voluntary organisations have registered to provide services during the Godavari Pushkaralu-2027, East Godavari collector Keerthi Chekuri said on Saturday.
Reviewing preparations for the Pushkaralu with Superintendent of Police D. Narasimha Kishore and Rajamahendravaram Municipal Commissioner Rahul Meena in Rajamahendravaram, she said 22 organisations in the Rajamahendravaram division had registered 11,625 volunteers, while 17 organisations in the Kovvur division had registered 2,863 volunteers.
The figure is significantly higher than the 5,368 volunteers from 30 voluntary organisations who provided services during the 2015 Pushkaralu, she said.
Keerthi Chekuri directed officials to utilise the services of voluntary organisations, youth and volunteers to provide better facilities and services to pilgrims. Volunteers would be deployed in five areas — ghat safety, traffic and crowd management, sanitation, medical and support services, and food distribution and information services.
She said volunteers would assist police at ghats, junctions, temples and queue lines, maintain cleanliness at ghats and food distribution centres, and guide pilgrims on proper disposal of puja materials, plastics and used plates.
They would also assist elderly and differently abled pilgrims with wheelchairs and ramps, administer ORS to those suffering from dehydration and help transport those requiring medical attention to camps. Help desks would be set up at railway stations, bus stands and Pushkaralu venues.
The collector directed officials to identify skilled local youth and volunteers from organisations such as NCC, NSS, ISKCON, Sri Sathya Sai and NRI groups.
SP Narasimha Kishore said youth from organisations such as ABVP and Red Cross would be utilised according to their capabilities, particularly for traffic management and drone operations. Volunteers would be given special training wherever required under police supervision.
Representatives of Sri Sathya Sai said the organisation would provide annadanam to 25,000-30,000 people a day and distribute milk to children and drinking water to pilgrims at railway stations, RTC complexes and other locations.
Rajasthan Seva Samithi and Jain Seva Samithi said they would provide food to 10,000 pilgrims a day with the support of 500 volunteers. Red Cross and ABVP would each deploy 500 volunteers for crowd management and drone operations.