Mancherial: Pomp marks Gandhari Maisamma Bonalu
Mancherial: The annual Gandhari Maisamma Bonalu festival was celebrated with religious gaiety and pomp at Sri Gandhari Maisamma temple on the outskirts of Bokkalagutta village in Mandamarri mandal on the busy Mancherial-Asifabad national highway on Sunday.
Facing a drizzle, around 50,000 devotees from various parts of the district visited the temple and offered special prayers. Using various modes of transport, devotees from Mancherial, Ramakrishnapur and Mandamarri towns and surrounding villages thronged the temple and awaited in serpentine queue lines for darshan.
Traffic comes to standstill
The devotees offered coconuts, while some sacrificed chickens and goats as a token of gratitude. Women carried Bonam on their heads offered it to goddess Maisamma. Traffic came to a standstill for about two hours following the large congregation of devotees who parked their vehicles on either side of the road leading to the temple. Policemen were seen ensuring the smooth vehicular movement.
After darshan, the pilgrims cooked food under the trees by erecting makeshift tents in the surroundings of the temple. They also shopped for toys for the children and also visited Gandhari Vanam and Children’s Park beside the temple. Some of them took a dip in the Rallavagu, abutting the temple.
Government Whip Balka Suman visited the temple and offered special prayers. He said steps were being
taken to improve basic amenities at the shrine for the convenience of devotees. He said a compound wall, toilets and other facilities were also going to be created. He added that the historic Gandhari Fort would be converted into a tourist spot soon.
Zilla Parishad chairperson Nallala Bhagyalaxmi, Mandamarri ZPTC Velpula Ravi, Bellampalli ACP Adla Mahesh, Mandamarri Inspector G Pramod Rao were also present.
