Dasara festivities on Indrakeeladri: Over 30,000 have darshan of Gayatri Devi

Vijayawada: More than 30,000 devotees had darshan of Goddess Kanaka Durga at Sri Durga Malleswara Swamy temple on Indrakeeladri on Saturday on the third day of the nine-day Dasara celebrations.

The presiding deity was decorated as Sri Gayatri Devi. Devotees started visiting the temple since early morning and the rush gradually increased by afternoon.

Though the temple administration decided to restrict the entry of devotees to only 10,000 per day, they changed the rules and allowed more than 30,000 the devotees by evening. The temple Executive Officer D Bhramaramba in a press release on Saturday said the temple earned income of Rs 18,21,898 on sale of darshan tickets. Agriculture Minister K Kannababu visited the temple and performed special puja.

Briefing the media, Minister Kannababu said the State government had allocated Rs 70 crore for the development of Sri Durga temple. Endowments Minister Velampalli Srinivas said the rush of devotees is likely to increase from Sunday onwards.

BJP leader and Rajya Sabha member GVL Narasimha Rao visited Sri Durga temple on Saturday and suggested the devotees to follow the Covid guidelines. The temple administration has made arrangements for the hassle-free darshan and distribution of Prasadams to the devotees. On Sunday, the presiding deity will be decorated as Sri Lalitha Tripura Sundari Devi. Krishna District Collector J Nivas and Police Commissioner B Srinivasulu visited the temple on Saturday evening and inspected the arrangements.