Durga temple gears up for Moola Nakshatram fete

Vijayawada: Sri Durga Malleswara Swamy Varla Devasthanam atop Indrakeeladri is gearing up for the auspicious Moola Nakshatram puja on Friday.

Moola Nakshatram is the birth star of Goddess Sri Kanaka Durga and on this day the presiding deity blesses the devotees in the Saraswathi Devi Alankaram. It is believed that having the darshan of Goddess Sri Saraswathi Devi on this day could bring knowledge and success. This year the Moola Nakshatram falls on Friday which is believed to be the most optimistic day.

Around 2.5 lakh to 3 lakh devotees are likely to visit the temple on Friday. Moreover, Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy is going to present silk robes to the goddess at 3 pm.

In this view, the authorities concerned made foolproof arrangements for the convenience of the devotees.

Police Commissioner Kanthi Rana Tata has chalked out special plans to provide hassle-free darshan to the devotees as well as to prevent any untoward incident in the city limits.

An additional force of 700 police personnel will be deployed as a precautionary measure to oversee the security arrangements.

At present around 6,000 police personnel have been working hard for the past six days in shifts.

Considering the rush of devotees, the authorities decided to allow pilgrims from early morning 2 am to 11 pm on Friday to have the darshan of Goddess Saraswathi. If the pilgrims’ rush continues it is likely to extend one more hour.

On the other hand, all the VIP and Protocol darshan were cancelled except the CM and his retinue. The vehicles are also not allowed to the hilltop except service vehicles.

Meanwhile, the police also imposed traffic restrictions on Thursday evening in the city limits.

Police Commissioner Kanthi Rana Tata said that vehicle movements were restricted near the temple premises and under the flyover roads.

NTR district collector S Dilli Rao said that all arrangements have been made for the Moola Nakshatram. He said that additional 2 to 3 lakh laddu prasadams are also prepared. Around 25 lakh laddus are likely to be sold out during the

Dasara festival.

On the fifth day of the celebrations, Goddess Sri Kanaka Durga blessed the devotees in Sri Maha Chandi Devi Avatar. Thousands of devotees worshipped the Goddess Sri Maha Chandi Devi, the new Alankaram on Thursday. Meanwhile, Sri Maha Chandi Yagam was also performed to mark the new alankaram atop Indrakeeladri.

Cine Actress Mahreen Pirzada visited the temple. Endowments Special CS Karikal Valaven, MLA Kurasala Kannababu and others visited the temple. Commissioner of Police Kanthi Rana Tata along with AIG Ravindranath Babu and other officers inspected the arrangements. District Collector S Dilli Rao along with temple officials inspected Prasadam Potu and directed to prepare a huge quantity of laddus for the convenience of the devotees.