The Pushkar ghats in the district were the busiest on the last day of the mega event on Saturday with over 8 lakh pilgrims taking a holy dip. Mancherial accounted for about 3 lakh devotees while Soan’s figure, in terms of arrival of pilgrims, was close to 2 lakh and more than 1 lakh came to the temple town of Basar from various destinations.
The festivities came to a close with a ‘shobha yatra’ and ‘harati’ of river Godavari at every place, but the event was at its best at Basar with Endowments Minister A. Indrakaran Reddy and Forest Minister Jogu Ramanna gracing the occasion. Devotees, however, flocked to the temple even after the ceremonial closure of the Pushkaralu.
The district administration heaved a sigh of relief as the event came to a close. Officials had exerted themselves for several weeks in preparation for the Pushkaralu.
Lack of flowing water may have been the bane of Basar, but the steady stream of pilgrims to the temple town indicated the love for the place among the devotees. Another jarring note was the unfinished works related to the event though there was hardly any complaint from the devotees.
Traffic flow was smooth all through the Pushkarams as the district police had drawn an elaborate plan anticipating heavier movement of pilgrims. The NCC, NSS volunteers and rescue teams from Singareni Collieries, the swimmers and NDRF personnel and others involved in ensuring safety of devotees came in for much praise.
