‘Chandanotsavam’ begins on a grand note at Simhachalam

Presentation of ‘pattu vastralu‘ (silk clothes) to Sri Varahalakshmi Narasimha Swamy on the hilltop temple of Simhachalam near Visakhapatnam in the wee hours of Friday marked the beginning of ‘Chandanotsavam’ 2024 on a grand note. Temple hereditary trustee, P Ashok Gajapathi Raju, and his wife, who presented the silk clothes to the deity, were the first to have the ‘nijarupa darshanam’ of the God. Later, seers of Sri Sarada Peetham and endowment officials had the ‘darshan’. Devotees in large numbers started thronging the colourfully decorated temple on Thursday night itself.

Presently, to ensure hassle-free darshan for devotees, District Collector A Mallikharjuna personally monitors everything at the temple. When he enquired the devotees in queue about the arrangements, they expressed satisfaction saying that they face no inconvenience.

The district administration, keeping in view a few incidents last year, made arrangements at the Simhachalam temple in such a way that no devotee faces inconvenience during ‘Chandanotsavam’ 2024. Mini AC and RTC buses were pressed into service to take devotees to the hilltop. The traffic police are clearing vehicles on the route from time to time. Water and buttermilk are being served to the devotees in queue lines. Drinking water is being supplied to devotees at 169 points. Only those who have darshan tickets are being allowed.

With the steps taken by the authorities yielding results, devotees are seen returning fast after having the ‘nijarupa darshanam’ of the deity. Meanwhile, an air of festivity pervaded the temple, and thousands of devotees were seen, eagerly waiting for their turn to have a glimpse of the deity in his ‘nijarupam‘.

Besides the arrangements by district authorities, voluntary organisations also came forward to supply drinking water and buttermilk to devotees. Medical camps were also set up on the premises. According to the District Collector, over 1.5 lakh devotees are expected to have the ‘darshan’ by evening.

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This article is written by Senior Journalist Lakkoju Nagesh Babu.