A higher-than-expected turnout of devotees at the Kanaka Durga temple on Indrakeeladri in Vijayawada on Sunday, October 11, the first day of the Dasara festivities, led to a temporary shortage of medicines at some medical camps set up to provide emergency care.
As many as 25 medical camps have been established along the roads leading to the temple and within its premises. They have been stocked with medicines, including antibiotics, paracetamol, drugs for blood pressure and diabetes, and medicines for gastric problems, cough, cold and nausea.
A few camps reported running out of paracetamol by afternoon. At a camp near the temple, at least 20 devotees, mostly women, sought painkillers within 30 minutes, complaining of knee and leg pain. Most said they had waited for more than four hours for darshan of the goddess.
At this camp, two boxes containing around 200 painkiller tablets were exhausted between 1.30 p.m. and 5 p.m.
NTR District Medical and Health Officer (DMHO) Sravan Babu attributed the shortages to the higher-than-expected footfall on the first day, which coincided with a weekend. He said 400 paracetamol tablets had been supplied to each medical camp, but a few camps reported shortages by afternoon.
Though the stocks were replenished immediately after the reports, the camp near the temple had to wait for more than two hours for fresh supplies.
According to temple authorities, around 90,000 devotees had visited the temple by 6 p.m. on Sunday, compared with around 47,000 recorded by the same time on the first day of the festivities last year.
Mr. Sravan Babu said larger quantities of medicines would be supplied to the camps in the coming days to meet the increased demand.
Published - October 11, 2026 09:03 pm IST