People throng the Vijayawada Bengalee Association-organised public celebrations of Maha Asthami at Kandukuri Kalyana Mandapam on Gymkhana Ground in Vijayawada on Saturday.

Vijayawada, October 14, 2013: There was a surge in the pilgrim turnout to the temple of goddess Kanakadurga atop Indrakeeladri on the penultimate of Dasara festivities on Saturday.

The queue lines were jam packed with devotees as the darshan was stopped for about two hours to change the alankaram afternoon. The deity was decked up as Durga Devi in the morning and Mahishasura Mardhini Devi from 3 p.m. afterwards.

The temple was kept open from the early hours of the day. The temple was opened with ‘Suprabhata Seva' at 3 a.m., and ‘Balabhoga Nivedana' at 6.30 a.m.

Meanwhile, the Vijayawada Bengalee Association and Sarbajanin Durga Puja Committee also organised public Durga Puja at Gymkhana Grounds and Railway Institute near the railway Station. Bengali devotees gathered in large numbers in the morning and evening to witness the puja and harati on Mahashtami.

The people from rural areas thronged the Indrakeeladri in good numbers as the transportation facilities improved with the RTC staff joining duties.

The devotee turnout rose considerably by evening. Temple Executive Officer K. Prabhakara Srinivas’ wife K. Himabindu performed Suhasini puja and presented saris to 208 women (muttaiduvulu) who visited the temple in free darshan queue line.

Minister for Infrastructure and Investments Ganta Srinivasa Rao, Bheemili MLA Avanthi Srinivasa Rao, Vijayawada West MLA Velampalli Srinivas Bhuvanagiri MLA Ch. Veera Siva Reddy and others visited the temple.

The Bhavanis, who were relinquishing deeksha, were seen visiting the temple in wee hours.

The Bhavani rush during daytime is considered to be insignificant compared to previous years. Indrakeelari reverberated with ‘Jai Bhavani’ chants as the Bhavanis turned up in good numbers.

The temple authorities stated that the teppotsavam, celestial boat ride, of goddess Kanakadurga would be conducted at 5 p.m on Sunday.

Source: The Hindu, October 14, 2013