Godavari Pushkaralu: It’s raining money in temples

Hyderabad: It’s raining money in major and minor temples from Basar to Bhadrachallam thanks to the once in 144 years Maha Godavari Pushkaralu.

While the actual income will be known only after the counting of the hundi which will be taken up after July 25, endowment officials say the income of all temples along the banks of the Godavari is bound to go up thanks to unprecedented turnout of devotees.The Maha Godavari Pushkaralu is being held from July 14 to 25 in Maharashtra, Telangana and AP besides other states through which the Godavari flows.

Officials say about 3 crore people participated till date and the figure may go up to 5 crore by Saturday. Lakhs of devotees prayed at the Gnana Saraswathi Devi temple at Basar, Shiva temple at Kandukurthi, Sri Laxminarasimha Swami temple, Dharmapuri, Mukteshwara Swamy temple, Kaleshwaram, Sri Seetha Ramachandraswamy temple at Bhadrachallam and scores of other temples after a dip in the Godavari.

Telangana has fewer major temples since all the major temples including the world famous Tirumala has gone to Andhra Pradesh. The Sri Seetha Ramachandraswamy temple at Bhadrachallam in Khammam district received about 4 lakh pilgrims on Wednesday compared to the 2,000 to 3000 in normal days and 20,000 on Saturdays and Sundays.

Temple officials said as against the Rs 29.86 crore income during last fiscal, the income this year is bound to go up. There are similar expectations at the famed Gnan Saraswathi temple at Basar in Adilabad district.

“Last financial year, the temple’s income was Rs 58 lakh. But this time the income is bound to go up steeply due to the Godavari Pushkaralu. There is a tremendous rush of devotees from all parts of the state and outside,” Ramanamurthy, assistant commissioner and in-charge executive officer of Basar temple told DC. Asked if he could give a rough estimate, he said it was not possible.