Over a lakh visit white sanctorum

Hyderabad: For Srinivas, master tailor of Spurthi Emporium at Petbasheerabad, it is a ritual that he has to undertake come what may - a trip to the white sanctorum, the Birla Mandir on the hillock, Naubath Pahad on New Year. Like him, there are thousands who throng to the temple.

On Wednesday, serpentine queues were witnessed leading up the hill. Himesha a member of the Birla Mandir temple committee said, "We provide additional staff for both queue handling and for additional services. The lift facility in the temple is a huge relief for the needful".

Right from the crack of dawn, people from all walks of life climbed the marble stairs chanting 'Govinda Govinda' in chorus. The inflow to the white marble pilgrimage was such that the police personnel had to stop people at several points for almost 10 minutes to stop crowding.

Vinay Raju, a security staff said, "New Year is a special day and many want to start their year at Birla Mandir. "This is the best place to start a New Year. A visit to this white sanctorum helps me embark on a new journey with rejuvenation" says Ajith Kumar, an entrepreneur.

Rajan and Sujatha, residents from Warasiguda, said, "There is a peace and an aura that this place exudes. We partied all night but on the first day of the New Year, we have to be Birla Mandir."

People also throng other temples, churches

Braving chilly weather and dressed in their best, people thronged the Chilkur Balaji Temple, Peddamma Thalli Temple, Ganesh Temple, St Mary's Basilica, St John's Church, Wesley Church and several others.

Mad rush at zoo

Over 33,000 visited the Nehru Zoological Park on Wednesday. The high turnout of the visitors was due to the day being New Year and general holiday. The authorities have taken a lot of efforts to manage huge crowd and motivated all the visitors through public address system, for care of their children and their belongings throughout the day.

The authorities also deployed additional security personnel at the animal enclosures. Additional booking counters were opened. Three first aid centers with nurses was established to take care of visitors.