Reinforcing their instinctive bond with the Godavari, thousands of pilgrims from both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, besides other parts of the country, took a holy dip in the Godavari in this historic temple town of Bhadrachalam on the first day of the 12-day Godavari Pushkaralu.
An estimated over 1.80 lakh pilgrims took holy bath in the river in the temple town, the abode of Lord Sitaramachandra Swamy, till evening.
Amidst a sea of humanity, Sri Tridandi Srimannarayana Chinna Jeeyar Swamy performed Visesha Snapanam to the Srirama Padukas with the holy Godavari waters before taking a holy dip in the river at 6.26 a.m., marking the formal commencement of the fete.
Earlier, an impressive ceremonial procession was taken out from the temple to the bathing ghat on the banks of the Godavari.
BJP State president G Kishan Reddy was among the prominent people who took the holy dip.
The police deployed a drone camera for aerial surveillance of the bathing ghats as part of crowd management measures.
Mild showers that lashed the temple town later in the day brought some relief to the devotees who otherwise reeled under humid conditions on the banks of the Godavari.
It took several hours for the devotees to have darshan of the temple deity due to heavy rush at darshan lines.
