BHUPALPALLY: Saraswati Antya Pushkaralu will commence with the first holy dip by Sri Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham pontiff Sri Shankara Vijayendra Saraswati Swami at the Triveni Sangam in Kaleshwaram on Thursday morning. Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla is also scheduled to take a holy dip later in the day.
Endowment Minister Konda Surekha and IT Minister D Sridhar Babu are overseeing the arrangements at Kaleshwaram.
The Health department has set up 10 temporary medical camps, two 20-bed hospitals and deployed 300 medical staff across 23 zones for the event. The state government allocated Rs 30.63 crore for organising the Pushkaralu.
District Collector Rahul Sharma and SP Sirisetti Sankeerth are monitoring arrangements at the venue. Around 2,500 police personnel, 200 CCTV cameras and 100 expert swimmers have been deployed for security and safety of devotees. Signboards and barricades have been installed at dangerous spots along the ghats.
Officials said elaborate arrangements, including carpets, pandals, drinking water facilities, tent cities, temporary roads and separate changing rooms for women, have been made for pilgrims. About 245 acres have been earmarked for parking and a one-way traffic system will be implemented from May 21 to June 1.
The administration has arranged 90 free shuttle buses from parking areas and bus stands to the Pushkar ghats. Meanwhile, the Warangal Region TGSRTC is operating 3,360 special buses with 5,772 trips from various depots to Kaleshwaram during the festival period, according to state regional manager of the corporation S Bhavani Prasad.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy called on people to participate in Saraswati Antya Pushkaralu with devotion.
He said the government made elaborate arrangements for the event to be held from May 21 to June 1.
He directed officials to ensure that pilgrims visiting for holy Pushkar baths do not face any inconvenience and regulate traffic to ensure smooth movement of people.
Revanth advised pilgrims to take necessary precautions to protect themselves from heatwave.