VISAKHAPATNAM: The annual Chandanotsavam of Sri Varaha Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy atop Simhachalam began amid traditional gaiety and religious fervour in the wee hours on Tuesday. As per the tradition, temple hereditary trustee and chairman P Ashok Gajapati Raju had the first darshan of the deity.
The deity is covered in sandalwood throughout the year and only on Vaisakhi Suddha Tadiya (Akshaya Tritiya) Nijarupa darshan of the deity is allowed. After the conclusion of the daily rituals on Monday, temple priests removed the sandalwood paste, a procedure that took three hours.
After performing abhishekam and special rituals, archakas allowed devotees to have darshan. Endowments Minister Kottu Satyanarayana, Sarada Peetham pontiff Swaroopanandendra Saraswati and Telangana governor Tamilisai Soundrarajan were among the early visitors. On behalf of the State government, the endowments minister offered silk clothes to the deity.
TTD JEO offered silk robes on behalf of the TTD on the occasion. A stream of VIPs, including ministers Ch Venugopala Rao and Gudivada Amarnadh, Assembly Speaker Tammineni Sitaram, ML As and former ministers, too visited the temple. A large number of people were seen waiting in queue lines even before midnight and in heavy rain. Speaking to mediapersons, the Telangana governor said she prayed to the Lord to end the coronavirus. By 10 am, over 30,000 people had darshan.
At one time, district collector A Mallikharjun himself regulated movement of devotees in queue lines as there was a sudden rush of VIP ticket holders. Special buses were run to ferry devotees from parking spots and foothills to the hilltop. As many as 2,500 police personnel were deployed to oversee the arrangements. Parking slots for private vehicles at Simhachalam foothill eased the congestion on top of the hill. Apart from the devasthanam, several NGOs and voluntary organisations distributed buttermilk and water to devotees standing in queue lines.
The Art of Living volunteers distributed watermelon to 5,000 devotees. AP Public Transport department’s National Mazdoor Union general secretary Y Srinivasa Rao inaugurated the distribution of prasadam, apple and orange juice to devotees. Meanwhile, high prices of darshan tickets drew flak from the people. A devotee from Anakapalle said he spent Rs 5,000 on darshan tickets for his entire family. “Earlier, the ticket prices were kept at Rs 200 and Rs 500 only. Even the buses provided for devotees were not sufficient,” he said.