Vijayawada: Only 10,000 devotees to be allowed for darshan each day

Vijayawada: Dasara festival co-ordination committee meeting convened by Endowments Minister Vellampalli Srinivas at the irrigation office at Governorpet here on Saturday decided to allow only 10,000 devotees per day during the nine-day Dasara festivities to be held from October 17 to 25.

The meeting was attended by officials from the Revenue, Endowments, Police, Fisheries, Energy, Municipal and other departments.

Speaking on the occasion, Vellampalli Srinivas said the devotees have to get tickets online for the darshan of Goddess Kanaka Durga at Sri Durga Malleswara Swamy temple during the Dasara festival. He said only 10,000 devotees will be allowed for the darshan per day and ticket booking already started on Friday.

He said queue lines will be provided for devotees for free darshan, Rs 100 and Rs 300 ticket-holders. Children below 10 years of age and devotees with more than 65 years of age will not be allowed for darshan.

He said thermal screening and physical distance are top priorities and queue lines will be sanitised every two hours. He asked the officials to keep strict vigil and increase surveillance with CC cameras. Andhra Pradesh Brahmin Corporation chairman Malladi Vishnu said the Dasara festivities will be conducted in a grand manner. He suggested to the officials to discharge their duties with dedication and reminded that last year also the celebrations were conducted in a grand manner.

District Collector Md Imtiaz said Covid guidelines will be followed and the central queue line will be kept open. He said thermal scanning is must and asymptomatic persons will not be allowed for darshan and they will be sent to isolation centres.

Vijayawada Commissioner of Police B Srinivasulu has made it clear that bathing will not be allowed in Krishna river ghats in view of the Covid pandemic. He asked the police officials to keep a vigil on the movement of VIPs and ensure proper surveillance.

Temple Executive officer M V Suresh Babu said on the first day devotees will be allowed for darshan of the presiding deity from 9 am to 8 pm and from the next day the timings will be from 5 am to 8 pm.

He said initially the queue lines start with three rows and will be increased to five for better maintenance and sanitisation. He said it will be better for the devotees to get their own drinking water and made it clear that the devotees must bring the printout of the online tickets they have booked to enter the temple.

He said wearing a mask is must and no lift and bus facility will be provided by the temple administration. Commissioner of Endowments Arjuna Rao, Joint Collector K Madhavi Latha, Municipal Commissioner Prasanna Venkatesh, Sub-Collector A Dhyana Chandra, temple trust board chairman P Somi Naidu, members and other officials attended the meeting.