Krishna Pushkaralu: Holy ritual unites people

AMARAVATI: True to its billing, Krishna Pushkaralu is showcasing unity in diversity by bringing people of different regions together. People from various parts of the country are seen taking a holy dip in River Krishna along with their family members. On an RTC bus bound for Padmavathi Pushkar ghat, some pilgrims from Tamil Nadu were seen discussing free RTC services to the ghats.

Enthusiasm of people from both North and South to take a holy dip in the river and offer prayers as per their traditions is palpable at the ghats. A family from Gujarat was seen offering flowers to River Krishna after taking a holy dip, while another from Odisha was seen taking a holy dip and offering prayers as per their tradition.

As Pushkaralu is only opportunity to offer tributes to the departed elders, people from different parts of the state and country thronged the Krishna Pushkar Ghats in a large number and seen busy in performing Pinda pradanam. Subba Rao, a resident of Visakhapatnam, who visited the city along with his family for Krishna Pushkaralu, said that the city has witnessed rapid transformation after becoming part of the capital region.

Expressing satisfaction over the arrangements, he predicted further surge in crowds as the government was taking care for the convenience of every individual. Meanwhile, residents of Vijayawada city are preferring to visit the ghats along with their relatives later in the evenings to enjoy in the beauty of the city and the river in lights.

Rush may ease in 3-4 days:

The rush of pilgrims for the Krishna pushkaram is likely to ease in the next three days. Officials estimate that though the rush has increased impressively in last two days owing to holidays, it may go down after the full moon day on August 18 which is treated as special day during the 12 days of the river festival. Politicians like YSR Congress president Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy and other leaders want to take holy bath on the same day.

At present the pilgrims’ rush is average, below the expectations of government. The authorities had expected the number floating pilgrims to be very high, and had set the upper limit at nearly 3.5 crore pilgrims to visit the city in the 12 days. Usually, in such major events like pushkaralu, the rush of pilgrims is the highest in the first three days, but this time around, the reverse was true.

Kommareddy Srinivasa Rao who reached the city from Hyderabad to take a holy bath said that the crowds have picked up in last three days due to the holidays. An official on condition of anonymity said that except auspicious day Pouranmi which is on August 18, the last three days of the pushkaram may witness some rush.