VISAKHAPATNAM: Thousands of devotees thronged Chandanotsavam of Sri Varaha Lakshmi Nrusimha Swamy atop Simhachalam on Tuesday. This year, the temple was not as crowded compared to last year. Many devotees from neighbouring States such as Odisha couldn’t come to Simhachalam under the impact of cyclone Fani.
The festival began with the temple’s hereditary trustee Pusapati Ashok Gajapathi Raju offering pattu vastram, sandalwood paste and having the first darshan of the Lord with his family. Later, AP Endowments Commissioner A Padma on behalf of the State government and TTD Devasthanam JEO Srinivas Raju on behalf of the TTD also offered pattu vastram and sandalwood paste to the deity.
The special rituals began at 1 am with temple priests performing abhishekam and removing the sandalwood paste. Later, they applied small amounts of fresh and wet sandalwood paste on the head, stomach and the feet of the Lord. The gates were thrown open for general darshan from 3 am. Thousands of devotees waited in serpentine queues from Monday night.
Though Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) deployed 50 buses to transport them atop Simhachalam, many devotees alleged that they faced difficulty waiting long hours for the buses to arrive at Goshala.
Chaos reigned supreme at the temple. Most devotees were not satisfied with the arrangements made by the devasthanam officials for this annual festival. Those, who purchased Rs 1,000 darshan tickets, were kept waiting for a long time, while those in free darshan queues were released much before them. Reliable sources said former MLAs and their kin were provided VVIP tickets, while those urged for additional tickets along with an official letter did not get as many.
“All arrangements have been made for the devotees, like shelters, carpets, water, first aid, toilets and bus facilities,” said District Collector K Bhaskar.