The jatra or the annual car fair of the Saundatti Yellamma temple attracted countless devotees from Karnataka, Maharashtra, Goa and other States.
They arrived at the mountain top town in buses, cars, bullock carts and other vehicles. They walked to the top to visit the temple and worship the reigning deity Yellamma (‘Mother of All’). They took a dip in the waters of the Jogul Bavi and Enne Honda. They set up stoves along the road to cook for their families and offer prasad to the temple. They walked to the temple with chants of ‘Udho, Udho’, holding prasad and coconuts and vermilion. About a hundred shops were set up on the premises to sell clothes, books, prasad items, coconut, dhoop and other materials.
The temple committee has put up barricades all along the premises to control the crowd. “We have streamlined the darshan system to reduce waiting time,” Ravi Kotargasti, CEO, temple committee, said. “We are taking up a massive clean-up operation once the fair ends. We will be utilising the services of paid employees and volunteers,” he said.
The district administration and district police had made elaborate arrangements. The permanent water supply scheme has ensured that the devotees did not suffer scarcity of water.
Security arrangements
Companies of the District Armed Police Force and civil police were deployed along the way.
Traffic police diverted vehicles on the four main routes reaching the village from Ugargol, Saundatti, the handloom factory, and Belagavi.
