Medaram jatara ends as deities return to the woods

Medaram: The biennial tribal festival Sammakka-Saralamma Jatara in Medaram concluded on Saturday with the Vana Pravesham of Goddess. About 1.35 crore devotees attended the Jatara this year.

Governor Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan visited the Medaram Jatara and offered prayers to Sammakka Saralamma. The Governor, who is on her second visit to the Medaram, offered traditional sarees and performed special puja. The tribal priests, officials, Mulugu MLA Seethakka and others extended a rousing welcome to the Governor.

Tamilisai went round the Gaddelu and performed the special pujas duly following the traditional native rituals. The Governor emphasized on the need to promote, protect, and perpetuate the rich and unique cultural traditions and practices of the indigenous people. Panchayat Raj Minister E Dayakar Rao and Endowments Minister A Indrakaran Reddy thanked the officials for the arrangements.

Speaking on the occasion, the ministers said that the officials ensured that there was no inconvenience to the devotees at the Jatara as they took up planning at a micro-scale. With the blessings of Ammavaru, devotees offered their vows and returned happily.

This year the government allocated Rs 75 crore. The focus of the government was in providing permanent structures despite shortage of infrastructure.

The Minister said that anticipating the large number of devotees coming for the Jatara, ghats were constructed at Jampanna Vagu to perform the holy baths. Dayakar Rao said that with the provision of drinking water facilities, sanitation and temporary huts for the devotees, there was no problem of drinking water and sanitation.

They expressed special gratitude to all the devotees who co-operated in organizing the Jatara in a grand manner.