MULUGU: On Saturday, the fourth and final day of the Medaram Jatara, tribal priests performed the vanapravesham of goddesses Sammakka and Saralamma, escorting them back to their abodes in the forest. While Sammakka returned to Chilukalagutta, Saralamma was taken to Kannepalli village, marking the conclusion of the jatara.
The vanapravesham of both the goddesses began at 6 pm, as per traditions. The priests returned to Medaram at 9 pm. Though the jatara officially ended on Saturday, officials expect devotees to throng Medaram for at least another week.
Traders and street vendors will remain in Medaram until then. Needless to say, on the final day of the jatara, lakhs of devotees visited Medaram to catch a glimpse of the goddesses at the altar. They offered country hens to the deities and consumed liquor and meat as prasad. At least one crore devotees attended the jatara this year.
Several prominent personalities, including Union Minister of Tribal Affairs Arjun Munda, State Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar, DGP M Mahender Reddy, Tribal Welfare Minister Satyavathi Rathod, Panchayat Raj Minister Errabelli Dayakar Rao, Endowment Minister Indrakaran Reddy and visited Medaram on Saturday.
Speaking to the media after darshan, Arjun Munda said, “Tribals from all over the country visit Medaram to take part in the Sammakka Sarakka Jatara. They are known as goddesses who fulfil the wishes of devotees.”
Woman dies of electric shock at Medaram Jatara
Mulugu: In a tragic incident, a 47-year-old woman died of electric shock during the Medaram Jatara on Saturday. The deceased has been identified as G Lakshmi, a resident of Karimnagar. She came in contact with a live electric wire near Jampanna Vagu, which killed her instantly. According to the police, Lakshmi had gone to Medaram to take part in the jatara along with her family.
While she was taking a holy dip in the Jampanna Vagu, it started pouring all of a sudden. Lakshmi then went inside a chicken shop to take shelter from the rain. There were broken electric wires hanging in the shop and she came in contact with one of them.
She died on the spot. Upon learning about the incident, police rushed the spot and shifted her body to the Medaram government hospital. Later, the body was taken to Mulugu area hospital for postmortem