GUNTUR: After a dull start on Friday, the pushkar ghats in the district attracted huge crowds on the second day of the Krishna Pushkarams on Saturday, with the flow of the devotees continuing from dawn to dusk.
The lengthy pushkar ghat at Amaravati alone witnessed over one lakh pilgrims, while about 60,000 people thronged the ghat at Seethanagaram near Prakasam Barrage. Despite such huge turnout, arrangements were made by the administration to ensure smooth conduct of the river fete.
Unlike on Friday, where people were forced to walk for a couple of kilometres to the Seethanagaram Pushkar Ghat, due to the restrictions on vehicle movement at Vundavalli Centre, people felt comfort on Saturday with the police relaxing the restrictions and allowing the buses up to the nearest points of the ghat.
After finding some problems with regard to lack of required temporary toilets and lack of spacious shelters for performing ‘Pinda Pradanam’ rituals, where the priests and pilgrims were forced to spend under bright sun on the first day, the officials erected a spacious shelter for conducting the rituals and also arranged additional toilets.
Most of the devotees thronged the famous Amara Lingeswara Swamy Temple. It took hours for the pilgrims to have darshan of the presiding deity at the Pancharama Kshetram. Ghats at Satrasala, Daida and Pondugala in Palnadu area, and Tallayipalem in Amaravati witnessed thousands of devotees.