Officials of the police department, Vijayawada Municipal Corporation, district administration and the temple management are collectively gearing up for the Dasara festivities to begin on Sunday at Sri Durgamalleswara Swamywarla Devasthanam on Indrakeeladri.
3 lakh laddus will be prepared by Sunday morning and eleven lakh devotees are expected to visit the temple during the nine-day festivities, and free meals will be served from 11 a.m.
VMC Commissioner Swapnil Dinkar Pundkar said that the total expenditure on arrangements, borne by the temple management, is expected to be ₹110 lakh, which is higher in comparison to previous years.
While 400 sanitary workers have been drafted for festival duties, 1,100 outsourcing workers have been called in to regulate the entire city, they will in three shifts on all nine days of the festival. Around 85,000 kg of waste was expected to be generated every day, Mr Pundkar informed.
Moreover, he inspected various ghats recently and directed officials to arrange a conveyor belt system so that the pile of robes removed by Bhavanis do not have to be carried by sanitary workers all the way to the roads. As many as bathrooms have been set up on the ghats, he added.
