The week-long Gangamma Jatara concluded here on Wednesday evening with thousands of devotees taking part in it while the richly decorated clay idol of the Goddess was immersed in the Kattamanchi tank.
A large number of women devotees clad in traditional dresses performed special pujas to the idol at Bazaar Street before lifting it for immersion. The devotees presented sarees, blouses and garlands of currency notes to the Goddess. Compared to the previous years, the number of devotees wearing the ‘veshams’ (attires) dwindled this year as also the inflow of devotees from the neighbouring states of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka on invitation from relatives here. Highlight was that a big gathering of Om Shakti devotees performed some of the awe-inspiring feats, including pulling lorries with hooks clipped to their bodies and piercing mini-trishuls through their cheeks. Later, the idol was taken out in a grand procession through the arterial junctions of the town before getting immersed in tank. DSP Lakshmi Naidu made elaborate bandobast for the festival.
