Inavolu Mallanna Jatara begins in Warangal district

Around 10 lakh devotees are expected to participate in the Inavolu Jatara.

Warangal: The much awaited jatara at the historic Inavolu Sri Mallikarjuna Swamy (Mallanna) temple began on a grand note in Inavolu mandal of the district on Saturday. Devotees began offering prayers early in the morning, with Oggu priests drawing patnalu with turmeric on the occasion of Bhogi festival. Around 10 lakh devotees are expected to participate in the Inavolu Jatara.

The Mallanna Brahmotsavam, which starts from Sankranti and continues till Ugadi, is held with great splendor. Mainly Bhogi, Sankranti and Kanuma during these three days draw lakhs of devotees to the Mallanna fair. The jatara is celebrated with Shivasatthu’s poonakas, Oggupujars’ games, traditional dances, Golla Kethamma and Balije Medalamma.

---

A large number of devotees come to the Brahmotsavam not only from Telangana but also from the neighboring States of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh. From the time of Kakatiyas, the Marneni clans of Ainavolu village have been taking care of the temple. In 1969, they voluntarily handed over the management of the temple to the Endowment department. Since then these Brahmotsavams have been going on.

Devotees have been facing the problem of lack of toilet facilities for years, however, the district administration and Temple authorities claim that they have made adequate arrangements to resolve the issue. The district administration has deployed over 300 sanitation workers, who will work round the clock to maintain toilets constructed in the temple lands.

There are about 46 permanent toilets constructed earlier and a newly constructed Sulabh complex, which is made available for the devotees. Apart from this, seven mobile toilet buses have been made available for women devotees. In seven other places, baths have been established and 210 taps have been installed, the temple authorities informed.

Tight security arrangements have been made at the jatara venue. Over 500 police personnel have been deployed along with the crime branch personnel, special task force and She teams in and around the temple. Over 100 CCTV cameras have been installed at important places and nine check posts have been set up to keep track of people’s movements.

The government has also deployed health officials, who will be present at the venue 24-hours. Apart from this 42 government health professionals have been deployed to provide medical facilities to the devotees. The TSRTC is running special bus services from different parts of the State for the jatara.