The stage is set for the holding of Rottela Panduga at the famous Bara Shaheed Dargah in a grand manner from August 9 to 13, after a gap of two years.
The annual festival could not be held in the last two years owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. The festival committee led by its president Syed Shah Jahan and vice-president Sk. Khadar Basha and the district administration, have made elaborate arrangements for the exchange of rotis by the people from far and near at the picturesque Swarnala Cheruvu as a thanksgiving ceremony after the fulfilment of their wishes.
The festival draws people from all faiths to seek the blessings of the ‘Bara Shaheed’ or the 12 martyred warriors in whose memory the Urs festival is celebrated in the holy Islamic month of Muharram.
People throng the picturesque water body and offer prayers at the Dargah seeking fulfilment of their wishes. They exchange rotis with those who have come to the dargah on a thanksgiving visit. The most common wishes include marriage, having a child, building a house of their own, and so on.
Agriculture Minister Kakani Govardhan Reddy oversaw the arrangements for the annual festival, which has assumed a secular character over the decades.
Swarnala Cheruvu has been filled to the brim to enable the devotees to exchange rotis by standing in the water amidst a serene atmosphere, added Kotamreddy Sridhar Reddy, YSRCP MLA from Nellore Rural.
The Minister directed officials to set up CCTV cameras at the makeshift control room to manage the crowd and put up signboards at various places for the benefit of pilgrims visiting Nellore not only from different parts of the State but also from neighbouring Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.
Based on experiences in the past, improved civic amenities have been put in place anticipating large crowds in excess of five lakh. High footfalls are expected at the Dargah for the ‘Gandhamahotsavam’, the festival committee president said while blessing a group of pilgrims with peacock feathers.
