Telangana: Devotees throng Basar temple in Nirmal on Vasantha Panchami

Around 50,000 devotees from not only Telangana, but also neighbouring Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh visited the shrine

Nirmal: The famed Sri Gnana Saraswathi Devasthanam saw a surge in influx of devotees in connection with the auspicious Vasantha Panchami, the birthday of the deity celebrated in Basar, on Monday.

Officials of the temple said around 50,000 devotees from not only several parts of Telangana, but also neighbouring Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh visited the shrine and performed special prayers by forming serpentine queues from 3 am onwards. They earlier had a holy dip in the Godavari river flowing on the outskirts of the town.

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Some of them expressed dissatisfaction over poor arrangements made by the authorities. They said they were forced to wait in queues to take darshan of the deity for three hours. They alleged that they were fleeced by private lodges as the Endowment Department did not have enough choultries.

Meanwhile, hundreds of parents performed Aksharabhyasam or initiation into the world of alphabets on the premises of the temple and special venues created around the shrine.

The sleepy temple town has come alive following the presence of the devotees. The devotees arrived at Basar through jeeps, cars, trolleys, buses, etc.

Executive officer of the shrine K Sudhakar Reddy inspected the temple.