VIJAYAWADA: Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Friday presented silk robes to the presiding deity of Vijayawada Goddess, Sri Kanaka Durga, on the auspicious occasion of ‘Moola Nakshatram’, on behalf of the Andhra Pradesh government.
The chief minister was welcomed by priests of Sri Durga Malleswara Swamy Varla Devasthanam, along with deputy chief minister (endowments) Kottu Satyanarayana and temple EO Rama Rao. The CM had darshan of the presiding deity. Vedic pandits blessed him by reciting hymns and gave him prasadam and a portrait of the goddess.
Home minister Taneti Vanita, housing minister Jogi Ramesh, temple trust board chairman Karnati Rambabu, Mayor Rayana Bhagyalakshmi and NTR district collector Dilli Rao participated in the programme.
On the sixth day of the Dasara Sarannavaratri festivities at the Sri Durga Malleswara Swamy Varla Devasthanam atop Indrakeeladri here, a large number of devotees thronged the temple for darshan of Goddess Kanaka Durga.
The goddess was adorned as the Goddess Sri Saraswathi Devi avatar on the auspicious occasion of Moola Nakshatram.
As many as two lakh devotees visited the temple from AP, Telangana and neighbouring states to take darshan of the presiding deity Durga Devi. They started arriving in the city on Thursday night to have a hassle-free darshan of the goddess.
As a result, all the queue lines were filled and the police had to control the devotees by ropes.
Keeping in mind the heavy rush, the authorities allowed the devotees to have the Goddess Sarasawathi Darshan from early morning at 1.30am. Since then, almost throughout the day, all the queue lines witnessed a heavy turn-up of the pilgrims.
Owing to the cancellation of all the VIP and Protocol darshans, the devotees managed to have the darshan within 2 to 4 hours.
NTR district collector Dilli Rao reached the temple by midnight the previous night to oversee the Moola Nakshatra arrangements. He locked all gates leading to the uphill Indrakeeladri, which gave a chance of taking darshan other than via the queue lines. A religious fervour prevailed across the city.
The Pandit Nehru Bus Stand, city bus stops, railway station and all the streets were bustling with the huge congregation of devotees.
Deputy chief minister and minister for endowment Kottu Satyanarayana stayed in Vijayawada and supervised the Dasara Sarannavaeratri festivities at the Sri Durga Malleswara Swamy Varla Devasthanam. He said, so far, 5.50 lakh devotees took darshan of Durga Devi.
Minister Satyanarayana said temple development works would start soon. The foundation stone for the works would be laid in November and the works would be completed in a year and a half. After the Dasara festivities, the relinquishment of the Bhavani Malas would begin within three days.
