HYDERABAD: This year during the Bonalu festival, VIPs will not be allowed to offer prayers at the famous Secunderabad’s Ujjaini Mahankali temple during the morning hours. This is being done to avoid any inconvenience to the women devotees carrying Bonalu on their head coming from far off places to offer it to the diety, Minister for Animal Husbandry and Fisheries, T Srinivas Yadav said on Saturday.
VIPs will have to wait till afternoon to offer prayers, he said. Meanwhile, the state government will offer a “Bangaru Bonam’’ to the goddess, which is estimated to cost `1 crore.Speaking to reporters, after inspecting the arrangements at the temple premises, he said that as many as 4,000 police personnel will be deployed. CCTV cameras will be installed at important points covering a range of 3km up to temple premises for peaceful conduct of the festival.
The State government is making necessary arrangements for the smooth conduct of the Lashkar Bonalu festival in Secunderabad. The Ujjaini Mahankali Bonalu in Secunderabad would be celebrated on July 29 (Bonalu) and 30 (Rangam).He urged all the department offiials to make elaborate arrangements for the festival and at Mahankali temple at the earliest. The Telangana government allots substantial funds for bonalu festival celebrations every year with Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao declaring bonalu as the state festival.