HYDERABAD: All the Mahankali temples in Secunderabad, including the historic Sri Ujjaini Mahankali Temple, have been decked up for the Lashkar Bonalu festival to be held in Secunderabad on July 21 and 22. The temples and their surroundings have been adorned with decorations, special lights and colourful arches.
The state government has taken necessary measures to ensure that devotees can celebrate the Lashkar Bonalu festival with gaiety and devotion. The major attraction of the festivities will be at the Sri Ujjaini Mahakali Temple in Secunderabad, where hundreds of devotees are expected to visit and offer prayers to the deity on Sunday and Monday.
The festival in Secunderabad will culminate on Monday with the famous ‘Rangam’ ceremony, where predictions about the future happenings are made by an unmarried woman, followed by a colourful Ghatam procession on an elephant.
Bonalu holds significant cultural importance in Telangana, particularly in Hyderabad and Secunderabad as a large number of devotees from all over the state visit the temple to offer prayers.
To manage the influx of devotees, various government departments have made adequate arrangements. Barricades have been set up to ensure smooth passage and traffic police will divert traffic to ease congestion around the temple premises. Additional police personnel will be deployed to maintain law and order.
For the convenience of women devotees, the temple committee has arranged separate queues for offering ‘Bonam’, which consists of cooked rice, jaggery, curd, and neem leaves to Goddess Mahankali.
Additionally, GHMC, HMWSSB and other agencies are making necessary arrangements for the two-day Bonalu festivities starting on Sunday.