Keesara reverberates with Om Namah Shivaya

Keesara: The Keesaragutta Sri Ramalingeswara Swamy temple in Medchal district witnessed heavy rush for the Maha Sivaratri Bhramotsavalu. As it is very close to Hyderabad, nearly four lakh devotees visited the shrine on Friday. All arrangements were made by the temple committee members to ensure hassle-free darshan and safety of the devotees.

The district administration at the instance of Collector Venkateswarulu made all arrangements for the benefit of visitors. Meat and alcohol were banned in the temple premises. Medical camps were organised at regular intervals.

Collector Venkateswarulu, Minister Ch Malla Reddy, MP A Revanth Reddy, Telanagna Governor Dr. Tamilisai Soundararajan, Rajya Sabha member J Santosh Kumar performed special pujas to Lord Shiva.

Devotees lined up in serpentine queues right from 3 am. The shrine at Keesaragutta is one of the most popular temples in the city. The hillock reverberated with hymns in praise of Lord Shiva and 'Om Namah Shivaya'.

People offered milk to the Shiva Lingam and performed puja. There are 101 Shiva Lingas on the hillock. People first visit Keesara in the morning and later follow it up with separate puja at their respective homes. People fast for the day and keep awake throughout the night.

People bathed the Shiva Linga with water, milk and honey which was followed by applying vermilion paste.

Keesaragutta is 30 km away from the city and attracts thousands of Lord Shiva devotees. It is believed that the 'Swayambu Lingam was installed by the lord himself.

Meghna, a resident of Mettuguda said, "Our family has been coming to Keesara for the last 10 years. We first perform puja at Keesara and then head home for bhajans."

As part of the Shivarathri festival celebrations, government and private schools conducted sports competitions under the auspices of the youth committees. They arranged food for the participants in accordance with the collector's orders.

Speaking about the festivities, the DC said, 'There were no disturbances during the utsav. As many as 82 CC cameras were installed around the temple, including the arch. About 1,500 panchayat staff were on duty in three shifts. An ACP rank officer, nine CIs, 27 SIs and 1,050 police personnel were involved 'bandobust'