Pithapuram: Thousandsof women from Pithapuram constituency received a special Sravana Masam gift of sarees and other traditional items from Deputy Chief Minister and local MLA Pawan Kalyan. The gifts were distributed as part of a grand collective Varalakshmi Vratam celebration held at the sacred Sri Padagaya Kshetram.

Over 14,000 women participated in the mass prayer ceremonies, which took place in the courtyard of the famous Sri Puruhutika Devi Shakti Peetham temple. Initially, the organisers planned to distribute gifts to 10,000 women but expanded the initiative to accommodate the large turnout.

The women performed Varalakshmi Vratam in five separate groups, named after goddesses Ambika, Bhramaramba, Chamundi, Durga, and Ishwari. The rituals were conducted from 5 am to 1 pm, with devotees performing prayers with great devotion.

Padmaja, wife of MLC Nagababu, participated in the first session and performed the rituals. She also helped distribute the sarees sent by Pawan Kalyan to the women. Each group consisted of more than 1,500 women. All attendees were provided with free puja materials by the Deputy Chief Minister’s office. Thousands of women arrived at the sacred site of Sri Kukkuteswara Swamy and Sri Puruhutika Devi from the early hours of the morning. Vedic scholars and priests performed the Varalakshmi Vratam with strict adherence to traditional scriptures. The rituals included Ganapati Puja, Kalasha Aradhana, and other special prayers, followed by a reading of the Varalakshmi Vratam story.

Jana Sena Party volunteers, police, and temple and municipality staff worked together to ensure the event ran smoothly without any inconvenience to the women. A medical center was also set up on the temple premises for emergency assistance.

The distribution of sarees, turmeric, and vermillion took place throughout the day in five phases, corresponding to the prayer sessions. The first phase, named after Goddess Ambika, began at 5 a.m., followed by the subsequent phases named after the other goddesses. The collective Varalakshmi Vratam has become an annual tradition, and this year’s event honored that tradition with great fanfare.

Kakinada Rural MLA Pantam Nanaji and DCCB Chairman Tummala Ramaswamy oversaw the arrangements for the gift distribution over the past two days. Jana Sena coordinator for the Pithapuram constituency, Mareddy Srinivas, along with other leaders, party members, and volunteers, coordinated the event. MLC Perabattula Rajasekharam and BJP leaders were also in attendance.