All set for Mahasivaratri Jatara at Vemulawada temple

Rajanna-Sircilla: Vemulawada Sri Rajarajeswara Swamy Temple, the largest Shiva shrine in Telangana is fully geared up for Mahasivaratri Jatara celebrations. The temple witnessed a daily rush for the last two months due to Medaram Sammakka Sarakka Jatara. The Mahasivaratri Jatara, which will be held from March 2 to March 28, is expected to attract over three lakh devotees, temple officials said.

District Collector Anurag Jayanti and SP Rahul Hegde have repeatedly reviewed the arrangements for the jatara. Devotees from across Telangana as well as neighboring states are coming to Vemulawada to attend the jatara. Vemulawada town has been divided into eight zones and assigned responsibilities to officers of various departments zone-wise. The district administration has directed that the staff should be available in the wake of the arrival of devotees from Sunday onwards.

Parking spaces have been allotted for VVIPs and VIPs in the Rajanna Temple Gudicheruvu area and general parking spaces have been set up for motorists in four areas of the town. 16 medical camps have been set up in the town by health department. The medical camps have been manned by 189 medical and health personnel with the availability of medicines worth over Rs 10 lakh. Charity organisations have come forward to distribute sanitisers and face masks to the devotees coming for the fair.

Special tankers will be used to supply drinking water to the pilgrims. Already 3 RO plants with a capacity of four thousand liters have been set up in the Rajanna temple. Four baby feeding centers have also been set up for the pilgrims who come with toddlers. Steps were also taken to supply buttermilk packets to the devotees. More than 140 showers have also been set up in the vicinity of the temple for the devotees as they were not allowed to take holy bath in Swami's Dharmagundam. Special attention is being paid to sanitation to cater to the needs of devotees by setting up bio bathrooms.

Fifteen hundred policemen are being deployed to provide security for the three-day Maha Shivaratri Jatara. Additional CCTV cameras have already been installed in the main squares of the town around the temple. For continuous surveillance 400 CCTV cameras were installed in town. Plans are afoot to organise a Shivarchana program with 1500 different artists during the three-day event. A special stage is being set up in the parking lot of the Rajanna Temple Gudicheruvu allowing artists to perform for three days.