KURNOOL: While taking a holy dip is part of the ritual of any pushkaram, authorities have banned it for Tungabhadra Pushkarams in view of the Covid-19 pandemic. Disappointed as they can only take bath showers at pushkar ghats in Kurnool, pilgrims from the district and other parts of Andhra Pradesh are heading to the ghats in Alampur of Telangana during the ongoing 12-day religious event.
According to estimates, thousands of people from Kurnool are visiting Alampur despite the state government arranging 23 pushkar ghats in the district, including at Kurnool city and Mantralayam. Also, some devotees find taking a dip in the Tungabhadra near the ghats in the Telangana town to be more auspicious due to the presence of the famous Jogulamba temple on the banks of the river.
M Vijaya, a resident of Kurnool, said police are not allowing bathing in the river even at places other than the pushkar ghats. “The police are chasing away pilgrims on the banks of the Tungabhadra. After my family and I could not take a holy dip near Nidjuru village, we decided to go to Alampur where we performed all the rituals, and offered prayers at the Jogulamba temple.”
KV Subbaiah of Koilakuntla questioned if the river water was actually being drawn through pumps for the showers. G Sanjeeva Rayudu of Proddutur said his daughter had invited him to the city for the pushkaralu. However, he lost interest as the holy dip is not allowed.
According to official records, 21,344 pilgrims visited the 23 pushkar ghats in Kurnool district on November 20 and 21. The footfall on the first and second day of the event were 10,875 and 10,469, respectively. On the other hand, at least 30,000 people from Kurnool and other districts of Andhra Pradesh have reportedly visited the pushkar ghats arranged in Alampur, Pullur, Rajoli and Venisompur of Telangana in the same period.
Zilla Parishad chief executive officer M Venkata Subbaiah, the nodal officer for the 23 pushkar ghats, said the authorities had expected at least one lakh visitors a day. “Many are opting to go to Alampur due to strict restrictions in place in Kurnool. The government has been informed of the low footfall at the ghats,” he observed, adding 6,000 cusecs of water had been released from the Tungabhadra Dam so far and more outflow from the project is expected.