Devotees throng Kanipakam temple on Sankatahara Chaturthi

Kanipakam (Chittoor District): SwayambuVarasiddi Vinayaka Swamy Devasthanam in Kanipakam of Chittoor district celebrated Sankatahara Chaturthi on Sunday in a grand manner amid religious pomp and gaiety.

On the occasion, Ganapathi Vratham was performed both in the morning and evening in which hundreds of devotees took part.

Sankatahara Chaturthi is observed by devotees to worship Lord Ganesh and praying to him to remove all obstacles in life. Normally, people observe fast on this day and perform Vratham at several Ganesh temples. They consider it more auspicious to perform the puja at Kanipakam Devasthanam.

Meanwhile, the temple witnessed huge crowds on Sunday and the queue lines were jam-packed. It took almost four hours for Sarva Darshan devotees to enter inside the temple. Due to summer holidays coupled with the weekend, thousands of devotees from various parts of the State and neighbouring States have thronged the temple to offer prayers to the presiding deity.

Moreover, as Sankatahara Chaturthi is also celebrated on the same day, Kanipakam devasthanam registered a huge surge in the number of devotees. Most of the devotees visiting Tirumala will make it convenient to go to other temples in the erstwhile Chittoor district including Kanipakam and Srikalahasti.

The temple management has made elaborate arrangements to provide hassle-free darshan to the devotees. Drinking water and buttermilk were distributed to the waiting pilgrims in the queue lines.

Buttermilk was also distributed outside the temple. Temple Executive Officer A Venkatesu has monitored the situation from time to time throughout the day. AEO Vidyasagar Reddy, superintendents Kodandapani, Vasu, temple inspector Ramesh and others were also with him.