HYDERABAD: All the Mahankali temples in Secunderabad, including the historic Sri Ujjaini Mahankali temple, have been decorated for the upcoming Lashkar Bonalu festival on July 9. The temples and their surroundings have been decorated with special lighting, vibrant arches and buntings.
A large number of devotees are expected to visit these temples to offer their prayers. Queue lines have been set up to ensure smooth passage for devotees during the darshan.
Additional police personnel will be deployed to monitor law and order around temples. Traffic diversions have also been implemented near the temple and its surroundings.
To facilitate a hassle-free experience, the Sri Ujjaini Mahankali Temple committee has arranged separate queues for women, allowing them to offer Bonam–a mixture of cooked rice, jaggery, curd, and neem leaves to goddess Mahankali. Devotees are expected to start visiting the temple early on Sunday morning and continue until 2:00 am the following day.
To ensure a smooth and peaceful festival, police have made tightened security arrangements, including the installation of CCTV cameras at strategic points. The festival will conclude on Monday with the renowned Rangam, during which predictions about future events are made by an unmarried woman. This will be followed by a colourful ‘Ghatam’ procession.
Thousands of devotees will gather near the temple to attentively listen to the Rangam ceremony. Following that, an elephant, decked out in rich decorative coverings, will carry a portrait of the deity leading a procession through different lanes of Secunderabad. Potharajus, adorned with turmeric and vermilion, will dance to rhythmic drumbeats during the procession.