VIJAYAWADA: The five-day annual Bhavani Deeksha relinquishment commenced on a grand note at Sri Durga Malleswara Swamy Varla Devasthanam (SDMSD) atop Indrakeeladri in Vijayawada on Saturday.
On the first day of the relinquishment process, more than 30,000 devotees thronged the temple, relinquished their mandala and ardha-mandala Bhavani Deeksha, and offered prayers to the presiding deity.
Anticipating the devotee rush, temple authorities made elaborate arrangements to ensure smooth conduct of the Bhavani Deeksha relinquishment, scheduled from December 21 to 25. Temple authorities have arranged five queue lines from Vinayaka Swamy temple at Canal Road to the temple hilltop and Sanctum Sanctorum of the temple. The Bhavani devotees, who observed the deeksha for 21 days or 41 days, completed Giri Pradakshina barefoot and joined the queue lines. After completing the darshan, the Bhavani devotees dropped ghee-filled coconuts and other puja paraphernalia in the Homa Gundam. Devotees were allowed to have darshanam of the deity from 6:30 am. Darshan will be allowed from 3 am to 11 pm for the remaining four days.
According to the temple officials, as many as 200 Guru Bhavanis from various parts of the State were specially appointed by the Durga temple authorities near Mallikarjuna Maha Mandapam.
Speaking to mediapersons, NTR district commissioner of police (CP) SV Rajashekhar Babu said elaborate security arrangements are in place for the smooth conduct of Bhavani Deeksha Viramana. “Around 6,000 police officials of various ranks have been deployed for bandobast duties. As many as 1,900 CCTV cameras have been installed. For the smooth conduct of the process, we also launched a special mobile application for the devotees’ convenience. Special tags were given to children to prevent them from going missing in the crowd,” he explained.
Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) Commissioner Dhyanachandra HM conducted field inspections at key locations such as the Ganesh Temple, Sita Paadalu center, Durga Ghat, and Krishnaveni Ghat.
He pointed out that 35 drinking water points, eight temporary toilet facilities, and six cloakrooms have been arranged for devotees to ensure a hassle-free experience. To maintain sanitation, 1,400 workers have been deployed across 38 locations. The civic body chief instructed officials to promptly remove clothes left by Bhavani devotees using conveyor belts. Further, he announced the set up of a 24-hour special control room to address any issues faced by devotees.
A devotee from Vizianagaram, Appala Naidu (50), died of cardiac arrest while on his way to have darshan. Family members rushed him to a nearby medical camp and shifted him to Vijayawada Government General Hospital, where doctors declared him brought dead.