Hyderabad: Rama Navami celebrated in subdued manner

Hyderabad: The Rama Navami celebrations were held in a subdued manner in the State on Wednesday as Kalyanams were performed behind closed doors. There were neither mass processions nor outdoor Kalyanotsavam, or annadanams this time. The devotees who came to the temples in the morning had to return after seeing the temple doors locked from inside. The police personnel deployed at the temple premises closed the doors and did not allow the devotees. Later, on the requests of the temple authorities, the devotees were allowed inside the temple in limited numbers, while ensuring social distancing.

However, the temple authorities provided live telecast through their social media pages and the devotees were able to watch the Kalyanam on Facebook live. The Kalyanotsavam at Bhadrachalam was also taken up in a simple affair with a limited number of devotees. Endowments Ministers A Indrakaran Reddy, minister P Ajay Kumar, TRS MLAs and others attended the Kalyanam at the temple. The famous Sita Ram Bagh temple in the city was also closed for the devotees. The Bhagyanagar Sri Ramanavami Utsav Samithi, which used to take up Shobha Yatra every year from the temple premises, cancelled the procession for the second consecutive year. Samithi representatives Bhagwanth Rao Pawar, Govind Rathi, Sriram Vyas and others performed pooja in the temple.

Though the Sri Ram temple in Langar Houz was decked up with flowers for the Kalyanotsavam, there was no permission for the devotees to witness the rituals. The temple committee members were allowed to witness the fete and after the Kalyanam, the devotees were allowed to have darshan by following Covid protocols.

The devotees were not allowed into the Sri Ram Hanuman temple at Vijayanagar Colony. The Kalyanam was performed in the presence of the temple staff. There were no prasadam or annadanam facilities for the devotees. The priests said that Pattabhishekam would be taken up on Thursday and that too with limited gathering. The Kalyanams and annadanams, which used to be taken in open places in colonies, were cancelled in many this year too.

The devotees were allowed to have darshan at Sri Akashpuri Hanuman temple, which has over 60 feet Hanuman idol on a hillock at Dhoolpet. The customary rally of BJP MLA T Raja Singh was also cancelled in the wake of the restrictions in place.