BHUPALPALLY: A festive and spiritual atmosphere prevailed at the Triveni Sangam in Kaleshwaram of Jayashankar Bhupalpally district on Thursday as the 12-day Saraswati Antya Pushkaralu commenced with religious fervour.
The Pushkaralu was formally launched by Sri Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham pontiff Sri Shankara Vijayendra Saraswati Swami, who took the first holy dip at the Triveni Sangam in the morning. Before the launch, the seer performed special rituals to Lord Vigneshwara and Goddess Saraswati at the Pushkar Ghat. He later offered Harati after conducting the rituals at the sacred site.
The pontiff also visited the Sri Kaleshwara Mukteeshwara Swamy temple in Kaleshwaram and performed special pujas to Lord Shiva. Hundreds of devotees gathered at the temple premises for his darshan and waited for hours despite the intense summer heat.
Endowments Minister Konda Surekha, IT Minister D Sridhar Babu, Bhupalpally MLA Gandra Satyanarayana Rao, Ibrahimpatnam MLA Malreddy Ranga Reddy, Endowments Commissioner M Hanumantha Rao and District Collector Rahul Sharma also took a holy dip at the Triveni Sangam.
Thousands of pilgrims thronged the ghats throughout the day to participate in the sacred bath and rituals. Addressing devotees, IT Minister Sridhar Babu urged people to take part in the Pushkaralu and seek the blessings of Goddess Saraswati for education, health and prosperity. He noted that the festival is celebrated once every 12 years.
Telangana Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla visited the Pushkaralu in the evening, took a holy dip and later inaugurated a museum constructed at a cost of Rs 1.2 crore in Kaleshwaram.
The district administration arranged tents, drinking water facilities and temporary changing rooms for women pilgrims to ensure smooth conduct of the festival.