Krishna Pushkaralu fever grips Telangana, AP

The 12-day river festival ‘Krishna pushkaralu’ began on a festive note in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana on Friday amid religious fervour and fanfare.

Thousands of devotees took holy dips in hundreds of spruced-up ghats along the river and offered prayers in temples located on the banks of the river.

Over six crore people are expected to attend the pushkarams in more than 260 major and minor ghats in both the states.

Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">While Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, along with wife Bhuvaneswari, took a dip in Vijayawada, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao and his wife Shobha took a holy dip at Gondimalla Pushkar Ghat, Alampur in Mahboobnagar district.

The Andhra Pradesh government has roped in Tollywood director Boyapati Srinu for the nava-harati to be performed every night at the Sangamam Ghat near Vijayawada. The harati, coupled with spectacular fireworks, has always attracted huge crowds. The government has also planned awareness meetings in Vijayawada on various development programmes and themes to coincide with the festival.