Vijayawada: Heavy rush at Durga temple to mark Mula Nakshatram

Vijayawada: Thousands of devotees thronged Sri Durga Malleswara Swamyvarla Devasthanam (Durga temple) atop Indrakeeladri on Tuesday, the sixth day of Dasara celebrations.

The devotees were excited to see the deity with a 'Veena' on her lap and blessing devotees.

Devotees consider 'Moola Nakshatram' an auspicious star as it is the 'Janma Nakshatram' of the Goddess Kanaka Durga. It is estimated that about one lakh devotees had darshan in the temple by 6 pm. The devotees waited in queue lines since Monday night. All queue lines were turned into general darshan lines for speedy movement.

In spite of that, devotees had to wait hours together in serpentine queues. On the other hand, the officials stopped operating special vehicles for the VIPs, media and others to the temple in view of the heavy rush since morning.

Vijayawada MP Kesineni Srinivas (Nani) was not allowed by the officials to use his vehicle to reach the temple by ghat road. The MP alleged that it was a breach of protocol. He along with his family members reached temple by walk. The police posted additional forces at all important places, particularly near the queue lines to check stampede or other untoward incidents.

Moola Nakshatram is auspicious for initiating the children into the world of letters, aksharabhyasam. Many parents were seen performing aksharabhyasam to their kids on the temple premises. The aksharabhyasam is a tradition for a long time and many parents joyfully visit the temple on MulaNakshatramday to start their children learning letters on slates.

The rush of devotees continued till night. Heavy bandobust was made in and around the temple as Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy presented silk robes to Goddess Kanaka Durga.