KURNOOL: Pushkar ghats wore a festive look amid religious chants and hymns praising the Tungabhadra on the fifth day of the Tungabhadra Pushkaralu on Tuesday. Till date, around 55,000 pilgrims from various parts of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka and Maharashtra have visited the 23 ghats arranged in the district for the river festival.
Most of the pilgrims are reaching the ghats in small groups in buses or private vehicles. Theme-based cultural programmes at Sankal Bagh and Mantralayam ghats organised by tourism and Information and Public Relations departments are a huge hit among the people.
Anticipating heavy crowd and in view of the Covid-19 protocols, the district administration has arranged pushkar ghats in Naguladinne, Gundrevula, Sunkesula, Panchalingala, Nandikotkur rural and Sangameswaram to facilitate the smooth conduct of pushkaralu.
Apart from decorating the city with wall paintings and colourful lights, the officals had repaired/renovated all major roads leading to the ghats.
In wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, no pilgrim is allowed to take a holy dip in the River Tungabhadra and instead showers have been arranged to allow people to take a bath in the holy water. Nearly 450 priests are deployed to perform puja and pindapradanam at the ghats. As many as 10,000 government staff and officials have been deployed to ensure the smooth conduct of the festival.