The stage is set for the conduct of ‘Rottela Panduga‘ at the Bara Shaheed Dargah here for five days from July 29 (Saturday).
The Nellore district administration, in coordination with the festival committee, has made elaborate arrangement for the rituals of exchanging rotis by people at the ‘Swarnala Cheruvu‘ as a thanksgiving after the fulfilment of their wishes.
Nellore MP Adala Prabhakar Reddy has instructed the officials to do foolproof arrangements to prevent any untoward incidents. District Collector M. Hari Narayanan, along with Superintendent of Police K. Tirumaleswara Reddy and Municipal Commissioner Vikas Marmat, took stock of the arrangements being made for the pilgrims at a cost of ₹2.80 crore.
The ‘Rotella Panduga’ has assumed a secular character over a period and it draws people of all faiths to seek the blessings of ‘Bara Shaheed’ (12 martyred warriors) in whose memory the Urs festival is celebrated every year.
Devotees throng the ‘Swarnala Cheruvu’ and offer prayers at the dargah, seeking fulfilment of their wishes. Standing in the water, they exchange rotis with those who have come to the dargah on a thanksgiving visit after their wishes were fulfilled in the previous year. The most common wishes of people include marriage, children, construction of a house and a decent, job, promotion, transfer to place of their choice.
Swarnala Cheruvu has copious water storage this year.
“CCTV cameras are being installed at different locations. A control room will monitor the movement of an estimated 15 lakh to 20 lakh pilgrims not only from different parts of the State but also from Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. Parking lots and make-shift toilets have been set up at different locations,” said the SP.
The footfall of pilgrims is expected to peak during the ‘Gandhamahotsavam’, the main event of the festival on August 1.
