Dasara festivities began on a grand note at the Sri Durga Malleswara Swamyvarla Devasthanam here on October 15.
Goddess Kanaka Durga, the presiding deity of the temple located atop Indrakeeladri, was adorned and worshipped as ‘Sri Bala Tripura Sundari Devi’ on the first day of the festival.
The festivities began with the priests performing rituals such as ‘Suprabhata Seva’ at 3 a.m., ‘Snapanabhishekam’ at 3.30 a.m., ‘Balabhoga nivedana’ at 6.30 a.m. and ‘nitya archana’ at 7.30 a.m.
Devotees from across Andhra Pradesh and the neighbouring States reached the temple at around 5 a.m. and waited in long queues after taking a holy dip in the Krishna at the Durga and other ghats.
As per the temple estimates, about 80,000 devotees turned up for darshan of the deity on the first day.
Governor S. Abdul Nazeer and his wife Sameera had darshan of the Goddess on day one. They were accorded a traditional welcome by the priests with ‘poorna kumbham’.
Executive Officer K.S. Rama Rao, NTR district Collector S. Dilli Rao, Joint Collector P. Sampath Kumar, and devasthanam chairman K. Rambabu ushered them into the temple for darshan.
After ‘Vedasirvachanams’, the Governor and his wife were presented ‘sesha vastram’, ‘prasadam’ and a photograph of the presiding deity.
Deputy Chief Minister and Endowments Minister K. Satyanarayana, Ministers P. Viswaroop and R.K. Roja, and A.P. Planning Board Vice-Chairman Malladi Vishnu had darshan of the deity on day one.
Later, Mr. Satyanarayana said that all arrangements had been made to ensure a hassle-free darshan for the devotees. He inspected the queues and asked the official to leave no scope for lapses. He said that complaints regarding the ₹500 ticket queue were addressed immediately. Milk, buttermilk and biscuits were being distributed to the devotees in the queues, he said.
