Hyderabad: Sadar Utsav mela, also known as dunnapothula panduga (festival of buffaloes), took off in the city on a grand note. On Tuesday, buffaloes from across the country were brought to the city, garlanded and decorated, before being paraded through the streets.
The star attractions this year are Sartaj and Shahenshah, two buffaloes from Haryana, who weigh more than one-and-a-half tonnes and are valued at more than `25 crore.
The mela was said to have begun in the 1940s and has been held in Hyderabad regularly ever since. Mr Haribabu Yadav, festival organiser, said: “The bull festival is celebrated only in Hyderabad. We have two star attractions, Shahenshah and Sartaj, two buffaloes which weigh close to 2,000 kg and 1,600 kg, respectively.”
Speaking about Shahenshah, the organiser said: “He weights 1,600 kgs and we take intensive care of him, feed him with 25 litres of milk, one kg of dry fruit and 50 to 100 apples daily. We also take him for a five-kilometre walk regularly.”
