Over 5.27 Lakh Devotees Visit Indrakeeladri as Bhavani Deeksha Concludes
NTR district collector Lakshmisha announced on Monday that the festival concluded with an overwhelmingly positive response from the devotees.
Vijayawada: Over 5.27 lakh devotees have completed their Bhavani Deeksha and had Darshan of Goddess Sri Kanaka Durga at the Sri Durga Malleswara Swamy Varla Devasthanam atop Indrakeeladri here in the past five days.
The final day of Deeksha Viramana was scheduled for Monday, December 15. The Bhavani Deeksha relinquishment culminated at Old Yagasala with Poornahuthi on Monday.
Temple authorities anticipate, however, that the arrival of Bhavanis would continue through Tuesday. Hence, they extended special darshan arrangements beyond the official conclusion.
In anticipation of the large-scale arrival of devotees, the temple administration has suspended all arjita sevas (paid ritual services) and VIP protocol access for Monday and Tuesday, ensuring uninterrupted darshan for the vow-observing devotees.
NTR district collector Lakshmisha announced on Monday that the festival concluded with an overwhelmingly positive response from the devotees. He credited meticulous planning and coordination across multiple departments for the smooth execution of the event.
According to official data, the temple distributed 21.25 lakh laddus as prasadam and served 2.13 lakh meals (Annaprasadam) free of cost to the devotees. Additionally, 59,435 devotees received Kalyanakatta (sacred offerings).
Temple executive officer Seena Naik and chairman Borra Radhakrishna said larger-scale arrangements were made this year, including unlimited laddu sales and uninterrupted distribution of free meals and drinking water.
Police deployed 4,000 personnel for security and crowd management. Some 8,500 sanitation workers was engaged to maintain cleanliness across the temple complex and surrounding areas.
The temple distributed buttermilk to 85,000 people and biscuits to 85,000. Fifteen lakh water bottles were also provided to quench the thirst of the devotees.
Some 1000 barbers lined up to extend tonsuring services to the devotees -- a common ritual. The temple also engaged 1,000 persons to manage various services.
The collector and the temple authorities, along with the temple's governing body, inspected queue lines and ghats to ensure the arrangements were satisfactory.