Old City echoes with Bonalu beats

Hyderabad: Reverberated drum beats, enthusiastic crowd and women in traditional attires carrying rice-filled pots were familiar scenes in Old City on Sunday. The annual Bonalu festivities started in the early hours at Lal Darwaja, Historic Akkanna Madanna temple, Gowlipura, Aliyabad, Bangaru Pochamma and other temples in the Old City.

Devotees carrying rice-filled pots as offering to the deity started thronging the temples with Lal Darwaja Simhavahini Sri Mahankali temple being the centre of the celebrations.

The puja started early in the morning and Animal Husbandry Minister T Srinivas Yadav offered Silk Saree to the deity. Women and girls clad in traditional dresses carrying Bonams lined up at temples across the Old City and in many other parts of the city too.

Long queues were witnessed at most places of worship as devotees in smaller processions converged for darshan and to make the traditional offering. Dancing to the resounding drum beats, men clad in turmeric paste ‘pothurajus’ lead the processions. 

All roads leading to the temples in the city were decked up with lights and illumination. Folk artists and pothurajus who lead the ‘Thottela processions,’ were in great demand. 

Petty vendors offering toys, flavours and other commodities made a brisk business at temple premises. Congress leaders K Jana Reddy, BJP leaders K Laxman, Ramachandra Rao, Telangana Praja Samithi president M  Kodandaram and other political leaders from different parties visited the temples and offered pujas. 

Congress leader Vijayashanti offered Golden Bonam to Mother Goddess. While addressing the devotees, Animal Husbandry Minister T Srinivas Yadav said that by giving State Festival Status to Bonalu, the TRS government made all arrangements to provide better facilities to the devotees at the temples.

This time the government is also spending money for the ‘Ambari Procession,’ he added. Minister Talasani expressed his satisfaction over the arrangements made by the Police, Endowments Department, Health, GHMC, Water Works and R & B departments to the devotees.

Security Arrangements: 

Keeping in view the two days Bonalu festival in the city, tight security arrangements were made by the police. Nearly 3,000 police personnel have been deployed for two days celebrations, to avoid any untoward incidents. 

South Zone DCP V Satyanarayana who is supervising the security arrangements said that with the help of CCTV’s they are supervising the situation. For the Ambari procession which is to be held on Monday an additional 350 CCTVs were fitted on the procession route to monitor the situation. The procession starts from Charminar and passes through Madina, Afzalgunj and concludes at Delhi Darwaja. 

In addition to the police personnel, Telangana Special force, Rapid Action force, Task force, Bomb squad, Dog squad, Intelligence and Special branch personnel were deployed to meet any challenge. SHE teams were deployed in mufti for the security of women and girls.