Fervour marked the conduct of Koil Alwar Thirumanjanam at the hill temple of Lord Venkateswara on Tuesday.
The ritual was observed as a prelude to Ugadi, the Telugu New Year’s Day.
A rich blend of herbal ingredients that acts as a disinfectant was applied to all the walls, pillars and the ceiling inside the temple.
While the main idol was provided with a water-proof covering all the other panchaloha idols of various deities were temporarily removed from the sanctum to facilitate the cleansing operation.
The ritual this year was confined to the main sanctum sanctorum. Adhering to the directives issued by the medical and health agencies to avoid social gatherings, the TTD resolved to observe it as a low key affair. A few employees headed by TTD EO Anilkumar Singhal and Additional EO A.V. Dharma Reddy along with the temple priests took part in the process that lasted about five hours.
