VIJAYAWADA : With incessant rains battering Vijayawada city for the past three days, the authorities of Sri Durga Malleswara Swamy Varla Devasthanam (SDMSD) atop Indrakeeladri has closed the ghat road on Sunday temporarily to avoid any untoward incidents.
The move comes after incidents of landslides on the ghat road near Om turning point and adjacent parking place were reported in the past.
“As there were incidents of landslides on the ghat road in the past, we stopped the movement of vehicles through the ghat road and asked devotees to park their vehicles at Kanaka Durga Nagar. Elaborate arrangements were made to facilitate cars and vehicles. However, temple-run buses will continue operating for the convenience of senior citizens and specially-abled,” said the temple executive officer (EO) KS Rama Rao.
Meanwhile, Telangana-based Bhagyanagar Sri Mahankali Jatara Bonalu Utsavalu Ummadi Devalayala Uregimpu Committee members reached the temple in huge numbers and offered ‘bonam’ to Goddess Kanaka Durga.
The women devotees dressed in traditional attire and carrying ‘bonam’, a pot filled with rice, turmeric powder, jaggery, curd and covered with neem leaves and a lamp placed on it, on their heads reached Indrakeeladri to offer it to the deity. The devotees took out a procession from Jammidoddi, Kanaka Durga temple Guest House, to Durga ghat here where temple priests welcomed them with all traditional honours.