HYDERABAD: Around 10 to 12 lakh devotees are expected to attend the Secunderabad Bonalu festivities, which are set to be held on a grand scale after a gap of two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The GHMC, police and the Ujjaini Mahankali temple authorities have been undertaking a wide array of preparations for the event.
“We will be taking care of the sanitation and cleanliness in the temple and surroundings. We have also appointed a special team of housekeeping staff to avoid littering and more dust bins will be set up at the temple surroundings. Cleaning will be done frequently; also, a medical camp is arranged and we are expecting around 10-12 lakh devotees,” a GHMC official supervising the festivities said.
Medical camps and help desks are dotted along the queue lines, with shop owners and hawkers eagerly awaiting the turnout of large crowds. “I am very happy that finally the most awaited day of the year has arrived where sales will increase. We are well prepared with enough stock to sell,” said K. Aarti, a cloth bag seller.
Devotees started visiting the temple on Saturday, with women carrying Bonam also lining up outside the temple premises. Among the eager devotees looking forward to the festivities are the Gangaputhras, a fisherman community settled around the Ramnagar fish market.
They have a unique tradition of carrying along their fishing nets as part of the Bonam to offer to the deity. Ganta Shamala, an elderly woman of the Gangaputhra community, said, “The traditions were followed by my grandparents and now, the same will be followed by my grandchildren. We carry a Bonam, along with our fishing nets, offer to the deity and we bring the nets back, taking the blessings of the deity for good catch and safety while fishing.”
The main temple for the community members, however, is the Pochamma Devalayam in the Gemini Colony of Zamistanpur. The temple authorities said that the two-century-old deity was earlier in a hole of a large banyan tree, following which a small structure was built around 50 years ago by three communities, including the Gangaputhras.
“The tree fell in 1985 and the temple was completed on October 20 of 1985,” said B.B. Janardhan, the chairman of the temple. The Bonalu festivities will be prominently held here from July 23-25. Kumaraiah, the caretaker of the temple, said, “People come together for the planning and cooperate to make the festival a grand one every year.”
Meanwhile, the state government has also decided to clear legal hurdles for availing of services of elephant Rajini, owned by the Nizam’s Trust, for Bonalu festivities, as well as Muharram. This will be the first time the pachyderm will be used since the high court barred the use of the animal due to some governmental issues. However, the same is expected to be resolved and a government order is issued imminently.
“Since the government needs to clear the way through proper proceedings, it will be coming up with a government order in this regard shortly,” a source said.
