Over two lakh devotees thronged various mandapams in the Chittoor district to celebrate Ganga Jatara festival here on Tuesday.
In the early hours, the ‘dharmakarta’ of the festival and former MLA C.K. Babu and his spouse C.K. Lavanya initiated special pujas, followed by the Ambali ritual wherein many devotees took part.
The devotees poured ‘ambali’ or ragi porridge into the barrels set up in Bazar street. The porridge collected from the devotees is then collected in a huge vessel which is later distributed to the devotees as ‘prasadam’.
Hundreds of youth clad in sarees and traditional attires (veshams) took part in the programme. Devotees smeared in kumkum, gandham (sandalwood paste) and viboothi went around the town, shouting hysterically.
The Jatara will conclude on Wednesday evening with the immersion of the idol of Goddess Gangamma at the Kattamanchi tank.
Before the immersion event, locals would perform various awe-inspiring feats, including pulling lorries with ropes attached to the hooks pierced into their bodies.
The Shakti temples at Obanapalle, Santhapeta, Doddipalle, Murakambattu, Girimpeta, and Kondareddy Palle localities in and around Chittoor town witnessed Jataras simultaneously in their respective areas. About 600 armed police personnel were deployed to maintain law and order in the town.
Meanwhile, marking the Chittoor Ganga Jatara, hundreds of villages around Chittoor also observed the festival at their respective places, offering traditional pujas. The devotees had a tough time with the mercury soaring above 40 degrees Celsius in various parts of the Chittoor district.
