Hyderabad: Minister Talasani reviews arrangements for Bonalu festival

Hyderabad: The State government is making all required arrangements to ensure this year’s Ashada Bonalu festivities are celebrated on a grand scale, Animal Husbandry Minister, Talasani Srinivas Yadav, said. The festivities will commence on June 30 at Jagadamba Mahankali temple, Golconda. The Minister, who, accompanied by Karwan MLA, Kausar Mohiuddin and senior officials from various […]

Hyderabad: The State government is making all required arrangements to ensure this year’s Ashada Bonalu festivities are celebrated on a grand scale, Animal Husbandry Minister, Talasani Srinivas Yadav, said. The festivities will commence on June 30 at Jagadamba Mahankali temple, Golconda.

The Minister, who, accompanied by Karwan MLA, Kausar Mohiuddin and senior officials from various departments, reviewed the arrangements on Tuesday, said, “Bonalu festival is an intrinsic part of Telangana culture and Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao has declared it as a State festival. Since then, the festivities are organised under the aegis of the Telangana government.” The State government will present ‘Pattu vasthralu’ to nearly 26 temples during the festivities.

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To avoid stampede and ease the darshan process when large number of devotees visit, barricades will be set up at all Mahankali temples and surveillance cameras will be set up at strategic locations, besides roping in 800 to 1,000 police personnel to manage the crowds along with She Teams, he said.

At Golconda, eight different locations were identified for parking of private vehicles and traffic diversions will be implemented at 14 different locations around the temple premises.

The Water Board will supply 8.75 lakh water packets and 55,000 water bottles while the Health Department will deploy four ambulances for emergency medical care and also have five medical camps during Golconda Bonalu.

Attempts are also underway to ensure the availability of free RTC bus services for devotees who visit from across the State. Senior officials from Police, Health, GHMC, Water Board and public representatives were present at the review meeting.