Floods: Teppotsavam, Jalaviharam At Durga Temple Cancelled
The irrigation department declined to issue the No Objection Certificate for the event and said floods made it impossible to conduct the boat festival on Thursday.
VIJAYAWADA: The traditional Hamsa Vahana Teppotsavam (boat festival) marking conclusion of the Dasara celebrations on Vijayadasami day, October 2, has been cancelled due to heavy floods in the Krishna river.
The irrigation department declined to issue the No Objection Certificate for the event and said floods made it impossible to conduct the boat festival on Thursday.
Meanwhile, extending his Vijayadasami greetings to Telugu people near and far, chief minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu prayed for the blessings of Goddess Kanaka Durga on all the people. He recalled that the deity, worshipped in nine incarnations during Navaratri, “symbolises the power that protects and nurtures the universe.”
Naidu wished that the goddess’s grace would continue to bless Andhra Pradesh with prosperity, social welfare and industrial growth.
Durga temple executive officer, VK Seena Naik, announced cancellation of the customary Teppotsavam and Jalaviharam due to the floods in the river. However, the traditional procession from the Shiva temple to Durga Ghat would be held, he said.
He said there would be no VIP or protocol darshan on Vijayadasami day to facilitate darshan for the large number of devotees, particularly Bhavani Deeksha participants. The devotees would be allowed special darshan from 2am on Thursday. All queues would be treated as free darshan lines.
The temple would distribute free laddus to devotees standing in queues on the auspicious day. The Dasara festivities would conclude with the purnahuti of the Chandi homam on Thursday morning.
On Wednesday alone, the temple earned Rs 62.16 lakh, mostly from laddu sales and special pujas. While as many as 85,094 devotees visited the shrine this day, 25,533 people received Annaprasadam, and 5,042 children were tagged to prevent missing incidents. Cumulatively, during the ten days of Dasara Sarannavaratri, over 11.28 lakh devotees thronged the temple between Sept 22 and 30.
Naik said the temple generated Rs 3.55 crore in revenue over the nine days leading up to Dasara. Laddu sales alone fetched nearly Rs 2.84 crore, with 17.29 lakh laddus sold, apart from the revenue from darshan tickets, special sevas, kumkumarchanas and tonsuring.
Special darshan tickets of Rs 300 and Rs 100 denominations fetched Rs 35.20 lakh and Rs 12.65 lakh respectively, he said.
Other gains for the temple were related to Kumkumarchana (Rs 6.25 lakh), Chandi Homam (Rs 1.20 lakh), Sri Chakranavarchana (Rs 33,000), Khadgamalaarchana (Rs 3.06 lakh), sale of photos and calendars (Rs 73,372), tonsure collections (Rs 10.92 lakh) and miscellaneous income (Rs 93,627).
