Fervour of Bonalu fiesta grips Hyderabad
Hours before crack of dawn, a festive atmosphere started to descend at the historic Ujjaini Mahankali Temple in Secunderabad on Sunday.
For the Bonalu festival, the temple was all geared and decked up and as the devotees kept coming, it turned into a beehive of festive activity. Clad in traditional best and carrying ‘Bonam’, an offering of cooked rice, jaggery and curd in an earthen pot, women kept joining from near and far.
Queues of devotees formed as Bonalu mood gripped the vicinities with pothurajus, folk artistes adding to the festivities. Animal Husbandry Minister, T Srinivas Yadav, was there in the early hours offering the first Bonam to the deity.
The temple authorities were joined by various departments right from police to Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC), Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply & Sewerage Board (HMWS&SB) and others to ensure all arrangements were in place for the large number of devotees who thronged the temple.
Four queue lines were arranged for the devotees with an exclusive one meant for women carrying Bonams. The police personnel guided by senior officials have been making required bandobust for the last few days and the entire premises were covered by a network of surveillance cameras.
Drinking water supply was arranged and health camps were set up nearby as a standby arrangement. Volunteers also joined in to guide and take care of the devotees and ensure the festival here passed off in an orderly and comfortable manner.
Kavitha offers Bangaru Bonam
MLC K Kavitha on Sunday offered Bangaru Bonam to the presiding deity at Sri Ujjaini Mahakali Devasthnam. Accompanied by a group of women, pothurajus and folk artistes, she walked down from Audaiah Nagar to the temple and offered Bonam.
Later, Kavita said she prayed to the goddess for the well-being of the people of Telangana. “Neither the farmers nor anyone should be impacted and I prayed to the Goddess,” she said.
She also wished for the well-being of people in flood-affected areas and hoped that with the blessings of Sri Ujjaini Mahakali, they would be safe.
“This wonderful temple has a history of 250 years,” she said adding the blessings of the Goddess were always with the people of Hyderabad and Secunderabad cities.
VIPs, Ministers offer prayers
Several Ministers, elected representatives and officials from various departments visited Sri Ujjaini Mahakali temple and offered prayers.
Endowments Minister, Indrakaran Reddy and Labour Minister Ch Malla Reddy offered prayers and said the State government was making all required arrangements for the smooth conduct of Bonalu festivities in the city.
Among others, Haryana Governor Bandaru Dattatreya and PCC Chief Revanth Reddy too visited and offered prayers at the temple.
