WARANGAL: The historic Mallikarjuna Swamy Jatara, one of the biggest religious fairs in Telangana, got off to a grand start on Tuesday at Inavolu village under Wardhannapet Mandal in Warangal Urban district. The Mallikarjuna Swamy temple witnessed a steady flow of devotees since the early hours of the day to offer prayers to presiding deities Lord Shiva, Golla Kethamma and Balija Medalamma.
On the occasion, special rituals were performed at the temple, which was decked up tastefully for the jatara. In the absence of facilities to be provided by the temple authorities, temporary tents have been erected near the temple by the devotees. But given that around six lakh devotees would visit the temple till the end of the jatara, they may face inconvenience. Though there is a water supply, there are no changing rooms near the temple. Meanwhile, Panchayat Raj Minister Errabelli Dayakar Rao and Endowments Minister Indrakaran Reddy laid the foundation stone for sheds to be built near the temple with an estimated cost of Rs 2 crore to provide accommodation to devotees, while the foundation was laid for building 45 cottages at a cost of Rs 2 crore on the temple premises.