RAJANNA-SIRCILLA: Thousands of devotees thronged the Sri Raja Rajeshwara Swamy Temple in Vemulawada on the occasion of Sivaratri on Thursday. However, the day didn’t go as planned for many of them, who complained of mistreatment by police personnel, a long and arduous wait for darshan, and temple officials prioritising VIPs over them.
Many devotees alleged that they were forced to wait in line for at least two hours. “The queue was not moving because the temple authorities wanted the VIPs to get darshan first. Children and old people were put through a lot in this scorching summer heat,” said a devotee.
Vexed with the attitude of the temple authorities and police personnel in charge of crowd control, a few devotees walked out of their queues and returned home without the Lord’s darshan.
In fact, one devotee fell at the feet of a CI, urging him to let him pass through to the sanctum sanctorum. The official did not budge. Soon, devotees began raising slogans against the police.
In another incident, a police official allegedly manhandled Konaraopet MPP V Chandraiah Goud. Tension prevailed for a while at the temple with devotees staging a protest at the temple EO’s office.
Endowments Minister A Indrakaran Reddy and TS Planning Board Vice Chairman B Vinod Kumar presented ‘Pattu Vastralu’ to Lord Shiva and Goddess Rajarajeshwari on the occasion. Speaking to the media on Thursday, the Minister said that KCR was keen on developing Vemulawada temple akin to the Yadadri temple.
Hyderabad
Devotees across Hyderabad city thronged various Shiva temples on Thursday, on the auspicious occasion of Mahasivaratri. Most Shivalayams in the city witnessed a huge turnout of devotees.The festival, considered to be one of the most significant by Hindus, is celebrated with utmost devotion and religious fervour in the month of Phalgun (February-March) and people from all across Hyderabad flocked to the temples to offer prayers to Lord Shiva.On Thursday, scores of devotees thronged the Ramalingeswaraswamy Temple in Keesaragutta, on the outskirts of the city, making the hillock which is dotted with Shivalingams abuzz with activities.‘’Had a blissful darshan of Lord Shiva and performed poojas at Sphatik Shiva Mandir in Gaganpahad and at the Banjara Hills Shivalayam on the auspicious occasion of Mahasivaratri, along with my family,” Hyderabad Mayor Vijayalaxmi Gadwal tweeted on Thursday.
Warangal
Thousands of devotees thronged all major temples in erstwhile Warangal district on Thursday to offer prayers to Lord Shiva on the auspicious occasion of Mahasivaratri.From the historic Thousand Pillar Temple in Hanamkonda and Ramappa Temple in Mulugu district to the Mukteswara Temple at Kaleshwaram in Jayashankar-Bhupalpally district, all major Shivalayams witnessed huge rush of devotees since early morning.While many had to stand in serpentine queues for hours to have darshan of Lord Shiva, the devotees waited patiently and once their turn arrived, they performed abhisekhams, kalyanams and special pujas. All temples were illuminated and decorated with flowers to set the festive mood. The Endowments Department officials had made elaborate arrangements at all temples for the convenience of devotees.Ganapeshwaralayam in Ghanpur, Someshwara Swamy Temple in Palakurthy, Mettugutta Ramalingeshwara Swamy Temple in Madikonda, Veerabhadra Swamy Temple in Kuravi, Mahabubabad, and Swayambu Shambulingeshwara Swamy Temple in Warangal also witnessed a huge rush of devotees.Panchayat Raj Minister Errabelli Dayakar Rao offered prayers at the Mallikarjuna Swamy temple in Inavolu.
Medak
The Mahasivaratri festival was celebrated with fervour at all temples in erstwhile Medak district as well, on Thursday.From the historic Ketaki Sangameshwara Swamy Temple in Sangareddy and the Edupayala Durga Bhavani Temple in Medak to the Mallanna Temple in Komuravelly, all the shrines witnessed a huge rush of devotees on the occasion. Finance Minister T Harish Rao and Medak MLA M Padma offer pattu vastralu to Goddess Bhavani on behalf of the State government. The Minister also performed special pujas on the occasion and later reviewed the arrangements made for the Edupayala Jatara. Speaking to the media afterwards, Harish said that around 0.35 tmcft of water has been released from the Singur project for the convenience of the devotees. He also mentioned that a 100-feet road is being laid in Potham Shettypally, at an estimated cost of `36 crore, to help devotees from Hyderabad to reach the temple in less time.