Bonalu festival in Old City, arrangements being made

Elaborate arrangements are being made with Rs seven crore for the smooth conduct of the annual Bonalu festival at the historic Akkanna Madanna Mahankali temple in old city, which will start from August 1.

All arrangements to ensure devotees have access to basic amenities in various temples during the course of Bonalu festival in old city are being taken up.

“About 132 different works costing Rs seven crore are underway for the smooth conduct of  Bonalu celebrations in old city. We want to ensure that devotees will have no reason to complain by ensuring that they have access to proper basic amenities during Bonalu celebrations in old city. As part of the celebrations, the State government will present ‘Pattu Vastralu’ (silk cloths) to the goddess Mahankali,” said Minister for Animal Husbandry Talasani Srinivasa Yadav in a review meeting held on Monday to oversee the arrangements for old city bonalu.

The Minister said that overall, this year the State government is incurring



an expenditure of close to Rs 90 crore for Bonalu celebrations. “About Rs 15 crore has been allocated to take up developmental activities in all the Mahankali temples while the remaining Rs 75 crore has been allocated for arrangements to hold Bonalu celebrations,” he said.

Extreme care is being taken to ensure Mahankali temple premises receive uninterrupted supply of power during the Bonalu celebrations. In case of power failures, authorities have made arrangements to deploy mobile transformers at all temples.

The Minister directed GHMC officials to ensure proper sanitation within the premises of the temples and even outside. In the backdrop of the ongoing Covid pandemic, Talasani urged officials to frequently sanitise the premises.

Special LED screens and lighting of the temple premises will also be taken up. Talasani instructed senior officials from multiple departments who were present in the review meeting to ensure all the local needs of the Mahankali temples are met properly.