Kurnool: Srisailam temple in Nandyal district experienced an unusual influx of pilgrims on Sunday, primarily owing to weekend holidays even as month-long Karthika masam festivities are concluding.
Streets of Srisailam brimmed with devotees. In just 48 hours, over two lakh pilgrims visited the Sri Bhramaramba Mallikarjuna Swamy Temple. The number is expected to double on Monday, officials said.
When temple staff started facing problems in managing the crowd, devasthanam officials assigned additional staff members to ensure smooth darshan for devotees with minimal inconvenience.
The heavy rush of devotees caused traffic jams in the Nallamala forest ghat section on Sunday night. Vehicles were stuck on both Sunnipenta and Dornala routes along a stretch of about five kilometres. District administration deployed an additional 300 police personnel to clear the traffic.
Monday, December 11, is the last Kartika Somavaram and the temple festivities of the Kartika masam will conclude on Tuesday.
Temple executive officer D. Peddiraju told media that devotees are being provided all the necessary facilities, including accommodation, food, and drinking water. He said that general darshan took 6–7 hours, while special darshan took 5–6 hours on Sunday.
