Visakhapatnam: Religious fervour marked the annual Sirimanotsavam of Sri Pyditalliammavaru on Tuesday, with over 2.5 lakh devotees from various parts of north coastal Andhra Pradesh and neighbouring Odisha and Chhattisgarh visiting Vizianagaram to seek the blessings of the presiding deity.
Hereditary trustee of the Pyditalliammavaru temple and Union civil aviation minister P. Ashok Gajapati Raju along with his family members offered prayers to the goddess in the morning session and completed the traditional rituals and they also watched the Sirimanotsav in the evening.
As per the schedule, the procession of Sirimanu started around 4 pm at Chaduru Gudi of Pyditalli and moved slowly towards the fort.
Chief priest of temple, Bantupalli Venkata Rao, sat on the top of a long pole (sirimanu) and was paraded from the temple to the fort thrice before returning to the temple.
The devotees believe that the priest is possessed and threw bananas at him. Lakhs of devotees stayed put to watch till the end of the Sirimanotasav.
The district administration, police and endowments officials made all the arrangements for the festival in view of previous experiences.
A mishap was averted as the wheels of Sirimanu cart lost balance following reckless handling of the chariot while it was returning to the temple. The alert police took steps to save the priest and others.
Traditionally, the festival is conducted on the first Tuesday after the Dasara festival. Compared to last year, more number of devotees thronged this year.
