GRAND SPECTACLE: Illuminated Sri Raja Rajeshwara Swamy Devasthanams in Vemulawada readied for the Mahasivaratri jatara.- Photo: R. Raju

KARIMNAGAR: The three-day Mahasivaratri celebrations at Sri Raja Rajeshwara Swamy Devasthanams in Vemulawada temple town began on a religious note on Thursday, with the arrival of hordes of devotees from various parts of the State and neighbouring States.

The Vemulawada temple shrine, which is also stated as `Dakshin Kashi', is one of the biggest Siva temples in Telangana region. The mahasivaratri jatara would be held for three days in this town.

The main festival would be held on Friday, the Mahasivaratri day, wherein special pooja like Lingodbhavana and Rudrabhishekham will be conducted during the night.

Silk vastrams

On behalf of the State Government, Devasthanam Chairman Adi Srinivas would present `silk vasthrams' to the presiding deity on Friday night. Tirumala Tirupathi Devasthanams (TTD) priests would also present silk vasthrams to the Lord the occasion. It is estimated that about 5 lakh pilgrims were expected to arrive in Vemulawada for the darshan.

The Vemulawada Devasthanam authorities have made elaborate arrangements for the jatara celebrations erecting temporary shelters for pilgrims, queue lines, drinking water arrangements, etc., at the shrine. The panchayat authorities were entrusted the job of round-the-clock sanitation in the shrine. A medical team was also deployed at the Devasthanam to treat pilgrims falling sick.

Collector M V Satyanarayana visited the shrine on Thursday and reviewed the arrangements with the authorities. He also inaugurated a photo exhibition installed by the Information and Public Relations Department at the temple. The district police machinery has also installed an exhibition of its achievements in taking up people-friendly policies.

On the other hand, the district police made unprecedented security arrangements for the three-day jatara, deploying additional police force. Superintendent of Police Y Gandhar personally reviewed the security arrangements.

Kaleshwaram jatara

The authorities have also made elaborate arrangements for Sri Kaleshwara Muktheeshwara Swamy Devasthanams at Kaleshwaram in Mahadevpur mandal on the picturesque tri-junction of Godavari, Indravathi and Saraswathi rivers. Majority of the pilgrims from neighbouring Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh and Bastar regions will arrive at the Devasthanams crossing the river with the help of boats to take part in the jatara.

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