New devotee-friendly amenities at Simhachalam
Rituals performed for dwajasthambam before installing it at Kasi Visweswara Swamy temple in Simhachalam
Visakhapatnam: In a step to provide convenience to the devotees, Sri Varaha Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple has improved ameneties.
The ancient shrine not only draws devotees from North Andhra but also from neighbouring states such as Odisha, West Bengal, Gujarat, Rajastan and Chhattisgarh.
On weekdays, the temple registers footfall of 30,000 approximately. During weekends, the count crosses 45,000. Although the basic infrastructure at the shrine is devotee-conducive, during rush hours, most devotees trickle down the queuelines.
But, those arriving from the buses and the vehicle parking spaces have to reach the main temple trekking under the hot sun. During monsoon, this particular stretch turns out to be all the more inconvenient for the devotees.
Similar woes are experienced by the people who approach the 'annadanam' counter post the darshan.
To mitigate the persistent problem, the temple erected sheds along a few stretches. From 'dakshina dwaram' to annadanam bhavan, a 750-ft shed was facilitated recently.
With the help of the donors, the long shed aids in protecting the devotees not only from the scorching heat but also from getting drenched in the rain.
Focusing on the infrastructure, the Simhachalam temple authorities are stepping forward to create a devotee-friendly environment at the devasthanam with the help of the donors. Devasthanam Executive Officer MV Surya Kala and engineering officials encourage donors to contribute to the temple development.
They said that this would speed up the development process further. "In recent times, with the support of the CMR Group, the devasthanam installed 'dwajasthambam' at the main temple of Simhachalam. Likewise, dwajasthambam for Kasi Visweswara Swamy temple and Sitarama Swamy temple were also installed with the help of the donors," shares D Srinivasa Raju, executive engineer of Simhachalam Devasthanam, with The Hans India.
If the devasthanam officials could accord more importance to the donors, there is a larger scope for the latter to come forward to contribute to the temple development.