Devotees throng Charminar Bhagyalakshmi temple
Hyderabad, Nov 6 (INN): Devotees from the four corners of the city thronged the Sri Bhagya Lakshmi temple adjoining the historic Charminar to avail the darshan of the presiding diety on the occasion of Diwali. The number of devotees thronging the temple far exceeded the expectations of the authorities, who had a torrid time in controlling the traffic on one of the busiest areas in the city. The devotees started arriving at the temple around Friday evening and the queues continued to build up even at around 9 AM on Saturdays.
The president deity at the temple, Goddess Lakshmi, is worshipped as the Goddess of Wealth. Prayers for health, wealth and year-round prosperity are conducted on Diwali day. The temple management appointed volunteers to maintain the lines of devotees and maintain order. They also supplied free water packets to the devotees who had to spend hours standing in queues before they could get the darshan.
The volunteers were praised by the devotees for their efficiency and also gained praise for the fact that they did not allow anyone, rich or poor to bypass the person in front. Vishal from Tarnaka and Priya Agarwal from Secunderabad told INN that it took them over 30 minutes to have darshan of the Goddess due to the large number of devotees and the long queue. Temple priest Gansham Pathak said that the temple authorities were successful in providing good atmosphere to the devotees who had come to the temple from far off places.
The city police had provided tight security for the festival, but this was seen as unnecessary. Muslim passersby could be seen greeting their Hindu brethren on the festive occasion and exchanging pleasantries. Some Muslims even handed over water packets to the thirsty devotees. Bursting of crackers was strictly prohibited by the police in the vicinity of the temple.
News Posted: 6 November, 2010
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