The nine-day Dasara Utsavam is all set to begin at Sri Durga Malleswara Swamyvaarla Devastanam from October 17 to 25, and officials have taken a slew of measures for the smooth and safe conduct of the festivities in view of the pandemic.
Reviewing the arrangements along with other officials on Saturday, Endowments Minister Vellampalli Srinivas reiterated that only 10,000 devotees, and that too, only those who booked tickets online in advance, would be allowed for darshan. The ticket booking system for free darshan, ₹100 and ₹300 slots was made online from September 17. Those aged above 60 and children below 10 are not permitted. The devastanam committee and the temple pandits would take a decision on allowing ‘giri pradakshana’ and ‘kesakandana sala’ during the utsavams, Mr. Srinivas said.
Darshan timings
In the review meeting, Endowments Commissioner Arjuna Rao said the darshan timings would be from 5 a.m. to 8 p.m for seven days. On the first day, darshan would be allowed from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. and on Mulanakshatram day, online reserved devotees would be allowed from 3 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Temple Executive Officer (EO) M. Suresh Babu said the devotees are requested to bring water bottles, wear masks and follow social distancing. Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) Commissioner V. Prasanna Venkatesh discussed sanitation issues.
“In the last two days, 2,078 devotees booked free darshan tickets online, 2,586 reserved ₹300 tickets and 1,860 devotees reserved ₹100 tickets,” said Devastanam Trust Board Chairman Paila Sominaidu. While Collector A.Md. Imtiaz stressed the need to display dos and don’ts boards and print the same on the backside of the tickets, MLA and Brahmin Corporation Chairman Malladi Vishnu directed the temple authorities to arrange a meeting with the Guru Swamis of Bhavani Deeksha devotees.
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