Governor Nazeer Offers Prayers At Kanaka Durga Temple
The Governor was received at the temple’s main entrance with purna kumbam and escorted into the sanctum sanctorum by endowments officials
VIJAYAWADA: Andhra Pradesh Governor, Justice S. Abdul Nazeer, offered prayers at the Kanaka Durga temple atop Indrakeeladri here during the Dasara festivities, when the presiding deity was adorned as Sri Mahalakshmi.
The Governor was accorded a traditional welcome with temple honours by priests and officials before he performed special pujas.
The Governor was received at the temple’s main entrance with purna kumbam and escorted into the sanctum sanctorum by endowments officials. Endowments chief secretary Hari Jawahar Lal, commissioner K. Ramachandra Mohan and temple executive officer V.K. Seena Naik accompanied him.
Vedic scholars rendered Veda Ashervachanam to the Governor, after which governor Nazeer was presented with a portrait of the goddess and temple prasadam.
After the darshan, the governor reviewed the arrangements made for devotees during the festivities. Officials briefed him on the plans for temple development and steps being taken to ensure smooth darshan for pilgrims.
Tripura Governor N. Indrasena Reddy also visited the temple on Friday, along with MLAs Yalamanchili Satyanarayana Chowdary, alias Sujana Chowdary and Kamineni Srinivas. After offering prayers to the goddess, Indrasena Reddy said the Navaratri celebrations symbolised the triumph of good over evil, he said.
Meanwhile, temple EO Seena Naik clarified that all ticket-based darshans have been cancelled, and darshan is being provided free of cost to all devotees. Priority is being given to common pilgrims, though VIP darshans will continue in their designated time slots.
He appealed to dignitaries to strictly follow time schedules so that regular devotees are not inconvenienced.
By 6pm Friday, the temple reported revenues of Rs 28.21 lakh from various services, rituals and sales. Significant income was generated through the sale of 19,121 laddu packets at Rs 15 each and 23,581 laddu boxes at Rs 100 each.
On the fifth day of the festivities, 90,006 devotees had darshan of the presiding deity by 6pm, with the numbers expected to rise till midnight. The temple authorities issued 6,185 safety tags to children to prevent them from going missing in the crowd and served annaprasadam to 23,656 devotees.
