VIJAYAWADA: Deputy Chief Minister and in-charge Endowments Minister KE Krishna Murthy has directed Goddess Kanaka Durga temple executive officer V Koteswaramma to provide hassle-free darshan to the devotees during Dasara and to organise the festival on the hill shrine without inviting controversies.
On Tuesday, Koteswaramma had a meeting with Krishna Murthy in his chambers at Interim Government Complex (IGC), Velagapudi, in which the latter took stock of the development taking place at Indrakeeladri. The EO informed the minister that devotees would be allowed to have darshan of the Goddess from 3 a.m. on October 18 (Vijaya Dashami). The presiding deity will be adorned as Sri Mahishasura Mardini in the morning and Sri Rajarajeswari Devi in the afternoon.
The minister instructed the temple authorities to ensure darshan for VVIPs and VIPs without causing problems to the common people and providedrinking water and milk to the latter at regular intervals. Koteswaramma informed the minister that devotees will be offered ‘appam’ along with ‘kadamba prasadam’ during the festival.
The minister also ordered the temple officials to procure enough generators and ensure a 24/7 electricity supply to the shrine during the festival. He advised the temple officials to hold a meeting with the police department for planning management of crowd, and to install advanced CCTVs near the shrine and bathing ghats. NCC/NSS cadets should be deployed at the shrine, he added.