KURNOOL: The stage is set for the commencement of the 12-day river Tungabhadra pushkarams at 1.21 pm on Friday with the entry of Jupiter into ‘Makara raasi’ (Capricorn). The festival, dedicated to the worship of rivers, will be held for 12 days, and is expected to draw devotees from Telangana, Maharashtra and Karnataka.
Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy will participate in the launch of the event at Sankal Bagh Pushkar ghat in Kurnool city. The government is organising the event in a simple manner in view of the pandemic.
Devotees intending to perform rituals such as pinda pradanams on the banks of the Tungabhadra during the pushkarams may book slots at the pushkar ghats of their choice online at https://tungabhadrapushkaralu2020.ap.gov.in.
Finance Minister Buggana Rajendranath Reddy and Labour Minister Gummanur Jayaram visited Kurnool on Thursday and inspected the arrangements for the pushkarams. The district administration has set up 23 pushkar ghats in different places, including Mantralayam, Naguladinne, Gundrevula, Sunkesusla, Panchalingala, Kurnool, Nandikotkur Rural, and Sangameswaram for pinda pradanam and other pujas.
As many as 10,000 government officials, including 5,000 police personnel, and more than 2,000 buses, trucks, cranes, tractors and the like have been deployed at the pushkar ghats for the pushkarams. This year, pilgrims will not be allowed to take a dip in the river, but a row of showers has been installed at all pushkar ghats. A yagnasala has been set up at Sankal Bagh to perform yagnas.
As many as 23 pinda pradanam points have been set up and 350 priests were recruited to perform puja and pinda pradanam. Officials arranged special tents, toi lets and changing rooms near the riverbed. Water and food will be supplied free of cost to pilgrims during the pushkarams. This apart, the district administration has arranged a temporary hospital, sheds, traffic-control lines, help desks and a command central control room. Meanwhile, the city is decked up to usher in the pushkarams. All roads have been illuminated, and attractive wall paintings and festoons adorn key circles. Main roads of the city, leading to the pushkar ghats, have been renovated and painted.