9 lakh expected to visit Keesara on Shivaratri

  Keesaragutta: Around nine lakh devotees are expected to visit the famous Sri Ramalingeswara Swamy temple here, which is the nearest Shiva shrine from Hyderabad, during the six-day Brahmotsavam celebrations beginning March 2. Accordingly, the temple officials are making suitable arrangements so that the visitors are not inconvenienced in any manner.

The arrangements have reached the final phase to receive the devotees, as more are expected to make a beeline to the temple in view of the Shivaratri festival falling on Monday, which is said to be special day for the Lord. In view of the anticipated arrival of lakhs of Shivbhakths, District Collector M V Reddy is holding regular review meetings with members of various committees that have been entrusted with the task of making arrangements. 

The DC has already instructed officials to put the Brahmotsavam-related arrangements in place before March 1. The steps being taken by the administration include installing 75 CC cameras to avert any untoward incident during the festival (jatara), construction of temporary latrines, deployment of 1,500 each police personnel and local panchayat staff and provision of water and buttermilk to the devotees waiting in queues.

The CC cameras are being fixed from the Outer Ring Road to the temple so as to regulate traffic, oversee  law and order as also sanitation work. The collector has directed that the police and panchayat personnel to be deployed should work in three shifts. He also instructed officials to arrange sports events, with a provision for food, for students of both government and private schools besides representatives of youth associations during the Jatara on March 2.

Reddy asked officials to ban liquor and non-vegetarian food in areas around the temple, besides running of medical camps for the benefit of devotees.

Temple committee chairman Thatakam Narayana Sarma told The Hans India that tents would be provided to the devotees in view of the rising day temperatures.  Special queue lines, with ticket prices of Rs 200, Rs 400 and Rs 800 are being arranged to facilitate Lord’s darshan for the devotees. A VVIP queue line is also being readied.

He said 25 Veda pundits from the TTD Veda Patashala, besides 50 temple priests, were engaged in conducting daily pooja in the shrine. Temple EO Lakshmi Narsimha Murthy appealed to everyone, including devotees, to maintain cleanliness around the temple, by dumping garbage in dustbins being provided by the temple committee.