Dasara festivities: 18.29 lakh devotees visit Vijayawada Kanaka Durga temple

Indrakeeladri, the abode of Goddess Kanaka Durga, and the One Town area of Vijayawada resembled a sea of red on Thursday as thousands of devotees observing Bhavani Deeksha thronged the Sri Durga Malleswara Swamyvarla Devasthanam, amid the chants of ‘Jai Bhavani’.

Clad in red robes, the Bhavani Deeksha devotees continue to make a beeline for the Durga temple even after the Dasara Sarannavaratri festivities concluded.

Temple Executive Officer V.K. Seena Naik on Thursday said that around 18.29 lakh devotees had darshan of the presiding deity during the Dasara festivities so far. The devotee rush is expected to continue till the weekend.

Nearly 14.84 lakh devotees visited the Durga temple between October 11 and midnight on October 20. The subsequent influx of Bhavani devotees on October 21 and 22 took the cumulative footfall to 18.29 lakh by Thursday afternoon.

The temple has distributed 39.84 lakh laddus to devotees since the commencement of Dasara festivities, with another 3.30 lakh laddus available in stock to meet the demand.

Food and other essential services have been scaled up to cater to the needs of the devotees. The temple administration has served annaprasadam to 8,37,385 devotees so far. Food is being served at the annaprasadam complex until midnight, while food packets are being distributed to devotees in holding areas from 1 a.m. until 4 a.m. or 5 a.m.

Food packets are also being supplied to three locations, apart from the annaprasadam complex: the entry point near Vinayaka temple, the underpass near the tonsuring facility and a point near the protocol office atop the hill.

To help devotees cope with the heat and long waiting periods, the temple has distributed 4.34 lakh servings of buttermilk and 6.45 lakh biscuit packets to those waiting in queues. Safe drinking water is also being supplied to devotees.

Medical teams operating at five-bed hospital facilities and medical camps on the hill have provided free out-patient services and emergency medicines to around 1.06 lakh devotees. Those reporting leg pain, colds, body aches and fever have been given medical assistance, the EO said.