VIJAYAWADA: Elaborate arrangements are being made for nine-day Dasara festivities at Sri Durga Malleswara Swamy Varla Devasthanam (SDMSD) atop Indrakeeladri, scheduled from October 3 to 12. The temple is taking all necessary steps to ensure the safety and convenience of devotees coming from various parts of the country.
In view of this, Minister for Endowments Anam Ramanarayana Reddy, temple executive officer (EO) KS Rama Rao, and other officials conducted a review meeting to assess the progress of ongoing work on Tuesday. Contractors were instructed to expedite efforts to meet deadlines, ensuring all arrangements are completed on time. Speaking to TNIE, the EO said that over 50 per cent of the queue line setup has already been completed, with the remainder expected to finish within a week. As per tradition, the queue lines stretch from the Vinayaka temple near the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) office to the temple atop Indrakeeladri via the ghat road. Hill fortification and construction work along the ghat road are also on track for completion in the coming week.
Rama Rao said elaborate arrangements are being made to ensure the smooth conduct of the festivities. Additional coordination meetings will be held to finalize the remaining preparations and assign responsibilities. Each day of the festival will feature the presiding deity, Goddess Kanaka Durga, adorned in a different avatar. These include, Sri Bala Tripura Sundari Devi on October 3, Sri Gayathri Devi on October 4, and so on, culminating with Sri Rajarajeshwari Devi on October 12. Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and his family are expected to visit on October 9, during the auspicious Moola Nakshatram, when the goddess will be decorated as Sri Saraswati Devi.
It has also been confirmed that Joint Commissioner Chandra Sekhar Azad will serve as the chief festival officer.