See you after 144 years! First Pushkaralu in Andhra Pradesh concludes peacefully
26 July 2015 9:25 AM IST
A total of 1.72 crore people from various parts of the country thronged the state
The 12-day long, once-in-a-12-years-river fete Godavari Maha Pushkaralu concluded peacefully barring sporadic incidents of road accidents.
Karimnagar: The 12-day long, once-in-a-12-years-river fete Godavari Maha Pushkaralu concluded peacefully barring sporadic incidents of road accidents. A total of 1.72 crore people from various parts of the state and neighbouring Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Karnataka had pushkara snanam at scores of pushkar ghats erected along the shores of the river in the district.
Holding the much publicised maiden river fete of Telangana at one point in time seemed impossible due to unavailability of water in Godavari, following scanty monsoon rainfall. About 2 TMC ft of water had to be released from Sri Ram Sagar Project and Kadem in Nizamabad and Adilabad districts, respectively, which finally made the Pushkarlu snanam possible.
In order to organise Pushkaralu on a grand scale, government had sanctioned Rs 122.78 crore to the district. Elaborate arrangements were made using the funds. A total of 36 pushkar ghats, 30 parking lots and 200 temporary toilets were erected at 22 venues for the mega event. Adequate drinking water facilities were in place too.
At the same time, 6,758 officials and 8,000 police personnel, including members of voluntary organisations, NSS and NCC were deployed at the venues. As many as 2,300 sanitation staff, 700 expert divers and 484 paramedical discharged duties for extended hours. As part of security measures, 122 CCTV cameras were installed at the venues. The SCCL, NTPC, Orient Cements Limited and Kesoram Cement Company came forward to provide certain facilities to devotees.
Inflow of devotees was poor initially but turnout gained momentum from third day onwards, resulting in traffic snarls on roads leading to the major venues such as Dharmapuri and Kaleshwaram.
However, officials concerned took measures and regulated traffic efficiently. Ministers camped in Dharmapuri and Kaleshwaram to oversee arrangements.
( Source : deccan chronicle )
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