Vijayawada Kanaka Durga Temple Sees 18.29 Lakh Devotees During Dasara

The cumulative number of devotees who had darshan of Goddess Kanaka Durga during the Dasara festivities reached 18.29 lakh by Thursday afternoon, temple Executive Officer V.K. Seena Naik said.

The footfall rose after 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 count to 18.29 lakh.

The rush is expected to continue till the weekend, even though the Dasara Sarannavaratri festivities have concluded.

Bhavani devotees continue to arrive

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 gathered at the Sri Durga Malleswara Swamyvarla Devasthanam.

The devotees, dressed in red robes, continued to make their way to the temple amid chants of “Jai Bhavani”. Their arrival has kept the temple administration focused on managing food, water, medical support and waiting areas after the main Dasara festivities.

Laddus and annaprasadam supplied

The temple has distributed 39.84 lakh laddus since the start of the Dasara festivities. Another 3.30 lakh laddus are available in stock to meet the demand from devotees.

The temple administration has also served annaprasadam to 8,37,385 devotees so far. Food is being served at the annaprasadam complex until midnight.

Food packets are being distributed to devotees in holding areas from 1 a.m. until 4 a.m. or 5 a.m. Packets are also being supplied at three locations: the entry point near the Vinayaka temple, the underpass near the tonsuring facility and a point near the protocol office atop the hill.

Medical help available on the hill

The temple has distributed 4.34 lakh servings of buttermilk and 6.45 lakh biscuit packets to devotees waiting in queues. Safe drinking water is also being supplied to those waiting.

Medical teams working at five-bed hospital facilities and medical camps on the hill have provided free outpatient services and emergency medicines to around 1.06 lakh devotees.

According to the executive officer, devotees reporting leg pain, colds, body aches and fever have received medical assistance.

Source: The Hindu