Devotees chant Om Namah Sivaya pulling Ratham

Vijayawada: The Rathotsavam was organised with gaiety and fervor by Sri Kanyaka Parameswari Anna Satram committee on Sunday evening.

The Rathotsavam was organised after Maha Shivaratri festival and it is 150-year-old tradition in the city. The chariot carrying the processional deities of Sri Bhramaramba Malleswara Swamy and Sri Bhadrakalee Sametha Veerabhadra Swamy, were colourfully decorated and pulled by Commissioner of Police Dwaraka Tirumala Rao and others. It is the tradition that chief of the city police starts the pulling of Ratham after breaking the coconut and performing a special puja.

Sri Kanyaka Parameswari Anna Satram committee has made arrangements for the pulling the chariot from Ratham centre up to Vinayaka temple. It was a delightful event for the devotees, who pulled the Ratham to Vinayaka temple and got it back to the same place where it was started. Prior to the start of the Rathotsavam, a huge procession was taken out on the streets of the old city with the procession deities.

Endowment Minister Velampalli Srinivas, the officials of the Sri Durga Melleshwara Swamy temple, a large number of devotees and local residents participated in the Rathotsavam.

Nearly 200 police personnel drafted for the duty to check any untoward incident on the occasion. Traffic was diverted since the afternoon for the Rathotsavam to pass through on the canal road.

Sri Kanyaka Parameswari Satram president B Hareswara Rao and secretary B V Lakshmi Vara Prasad welcomed the guests and supervised the arrangements. Similarly, Brahmotsavams of Sri Bhramaramba Malleswara Swamy, Sri Bhadrakalee Sameta Veerabhadra Swamy in the old Sivalayam are being held in old city in a grand manner from February 18 to 25. Priest P Uma Nageswara Sarma, the Utsava Committee chairman Brahma, said it was very auspicious event and all important persons in the city join the event.

It may be recalled that the Teppotsavaram was performed after Dasara celebrations every year and likewise, Rathotsavam after Maha Shivaratri also attracts a large number of devotees. Both events are performed nearly at the same venue. Teppotsavam is performed in Krishna river at Durga ghat and Rathotsavam on the Canal road. Both the events are considered very auspicious to the devotees and evoke huge response.