KURNOOL: Three people were killed and at least 100 others injured during the traditional stick fight, also known as the Banni festival or Karrala Samaaram, held at Devaragattu hills in Kurnool district early on Wednesday. Around three lakh people from various parts of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka thronged Devaragattu to witness the fete, while 3,000 devotees took part in it and clashed with one another using sticks.
District SP G Krishnakanth said two people died when the branch of a neem tree near Simhasanam Katta snapped and crashed as a number of youngsters were mounted on top of it to witness the festival. While Bala Ganesh from Aspari mandal died as the branch crashed on him, Ramanjayelu from Alur mandal lost his life when he fell off the tree. He added that the third person, identified as K Prakash from Bellary in Karnataka, had participated in the stick fight between two groups and died due to suffocation.
Terming the incident unfortunate, the SP said adequate measures were taken by the district police to prevent untoward incidents. Besides deputing 1,000 police personnel, Krishnakanth explained that bomb disposal squads, access control teams, drone and 100 night vision CCTV cameras, door-frame and hand-held metal detectors, deep search mine detectors and explosive vapour detectors were deployed during the Banni festival. The venue where the groups clashed was lit with 600 LED lights, he added.
On the significance of the festival, Mala Malleswara Swamy temple committee chairman G Sreenivasulu said Lord Siva, in the form of Bhairava, had killed two Rakshasas - Mani and Mallasura - with sticks. People consider injuries sustained and discharge of blood during the fight as a good omen.
In accordance with the belief, villagers of Neradiki, Neranikitanda, Kothapeta, representing the followers of the Lord, take the idols of Mala Malleswara Swamy from Devaragattu to their respective villages on the midnight of Dasara. At the same time, villagers of Ellarti, Arikera, Maddigeri, Nitranatta, Sulavai and Hebbetam, representing the followers of demons, try to snatch the idols from the God’s team, following which a ferocious battle breaks out. However, none of the members of either group filed cases despite sustaining severe injuries. Devotees who participate in the festival fight on the day, but bear no personal grudges against each other.