The Krishna Pushkar Ghats were bursting at the seams on Sunday as just two more days remained for the festival to draw to a close. More than 1.57 crore pilgrims are reported to have had the holy dip in the river across Krishna, Guntur and Kurnool districts during the last 10 days.
The number was pegged at 30 lakh on Sunday. The bathing ghats in Vijayawada city were brimming with crowds.
The rush at Pavitrasangamam near Ibrahimpatnam was so heavy that the police advised the public to stay away from that point of confluence of the Krishna and the Godavari where the Pavitra Harati is shown daily.
The Padmavati, Krishnaveni, Durga and Punnami Ghats in the city saw burgeoning crowds.
Crowds milled at the Pandit Nehru Bus Station and the main railway station in Vijayawada keeping the police and the festival organisers on the tenterhooks. Additional trains were made available by the South Central and East Coast Railways to clear the extra rush of passengers. The parking lots at all places were full by noon.
There was a major traffic jam on the Hyderabad-Vijayawada national highway as thousands of vehicles headed to the temporary capital city of Andhra Pradesh.
sThe administration of Sri Durga Malleswara Swamy Varla Devasthanam claimed that over two lakh pilgrims had darshan on Sunday alone. The lines at Indrakeeladri stretched for more than two kilometres.
Sri Bhramaramba Mallikarjuna Swamy temple at Srisailam too attracted a heavy rush of pilgrims.
Tight security arrangements were made there for the Chief Minister’s visit on Monday morning.
