Lashkar Bonalu set to see 20 lakh footfall at Ujjaini Mahankali temple

HYDERABAD: Secunderabad is set to celebrate the Lashkar Bonalu on Sunday, with around 20 lakh visitors set to visit the Ujjaini Mahankali temple here from 4 am on the day.

Temple authorities said that all arrangements, including security, have been made and that queues have been designed in such a way to ensure fast movement of devotees into the temple.

The Ujjaini Mahankali temple was established in 1815 by Suriti Appiah, who, during his service in the British army at Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh, had vowed to build a temple for Mahakali Goddess in his hometown of Hyderabad if the plague that was wreaking havoc in Ujjain subsided. It was from Ujjain that Appiah brought to the city a nine-inch-tall stone idol of the deity and installed it at what is now the Ujjaini Mahankali temple.

Gutta Manohar Reddy, the temple’s executive officer, said: “Around 20 lakh devotees are expected. We have arranged seven lines from the outside and five from the inside of the temple, which makes the movement faster. ‘Ammavari Urregimpu’ will be on an elephant, with the procession moving on roads around Secunderabad.”

Shashank Pasupilati, a city resident, said he and his family will be taking out the ‘Thothela’ (by men) and ‘Bonam’ (by women) from Nala Pochamma Temple in Sindi Colony to Ujjaini Mahankali temple on Sunday morning.

Seelam Prabhakar, the working president of the decades-old Deccan Manava Sava Samithi, said: “During Bonalu, we perform a ‘hawan’ at the Ujjaini Mahankali temple and look after volunteer works. A stage is set for eminent personalities who visit the temple to be felicitated. Committee members welcome all the Palaram Bandi processions.”