12-day Krishna Pushkaralu begins today

Mahbubnagar and Nalgonda districts are ready for the 12-day Krishna Pushkaralu which begins on Friday. The state government is spending Rs 825 crore for conducting the Pushkaralu on a grand note.  It is estimated that about three crore devotees would turn up for a holy bath in River Krishna and offer prayers at the local temples.

Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao will inaugurate the Pushkaralu by taking a holy dip at Gondimalla Pushkar Ghat at around 6.30 am. The district administration has made elaborate security arrangements. He will later visit Jogulamba temple, the fifth Shakthi Peetam located in Alampur and will offer prayers. 

The administration  in both the districts has made elaborate arrangements to ensure smooth flow of devotees to the pushkar ghats which have been decked up for  the occasion and the temples have been  illuminated with colorful lights.

The government has also made arrangements for providing food and water for the pilgrims. Queue lines, temporary dressing rooms, toilets, besides bathing ghats have been constructed.  The government is also making use of latest technologies like apps and websites for disseminating information to the devotees about the facilities at the ghats, bus and train timings and nearby important  historic places. 

It is also making use of technology to ensure safety and security of the devotees. Apart from CCTVs, the police department will use drones for aerial survey of particular areas.

In Mahabubnagar the administration has deployed 1060 swimmers and teams of NDRF across all the major ghats of Krishna during the 12 day holy extravaganza in the district. 

 “This year the



water in the river is flowing heavily. Almost all the ghats are touching the flood level. Keeping this in mind we have taken some precautionary measures to deploy deep sea swimmers and also pressed in NDRF teams to keep a vigil along the ghats in case of emergency situation,” informed Collector Dr T K Sridevi while addressing media at the collectorate. 

In Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu offered Harati to River Krishna at Sangamam ghat amidst colourful fireworks and illuminated ghats. 

Pilgrims have already occupied the Pushkar Nagars at various parts of Vijayawada and Guntur by Thursday evening and are waiting for a holy dip.  Akshaya Patra, an NGO that provides free food, hasstarted its kitchen to serve the pilgrims. The kitchen is ready to serve two meals a day for about three lakh pilgrims during the 12 days of Pushkarams.

Vehicular movement except for emergency services would not be allowed up to the 500 meters away from the ghats for the next 12 days. The vehicles coming from different directions carrying pilgrims have been provided with parking places in the closest areas to the ghats. 

The sign boards for the parking areas, Pushkar Nagars and bathing ghats are on display, besides regular announcements through the public address system.

The railways and the APSRTC have positioned additional staff to meet the rush of the pilgrims at various places.  The railways has provided special stops at Nidamanuru and Gunadala for the trains coming from Gudivada and Machilipatnam areas, at Krishna Canal Junction for the trains coming from Guntur and Tenali areas, at Rayanapadu for the trains coming from Hyderabad line.