City goes ecstatic with Bonalu
Hyderabad: Lakhs thronged streets to join the traditional 'Bonalu' festival which got the status of state festival for the first time in Telangana State on Sunday.
Secunderabad wore a festive look on Sunday as thousands of devotees and VIPs poured in at the Ujjaini Mahankali temple to offer the traditional Bonam with religious fervour to Goddess Mahankali.
The area bustled with devotees just before sunrise and continued till the early hours of Monday with an estimated eight lakh people seeking the blessings of the deity. Devotees throng streets as the festival has been given official status
Devotional and folk songs in reverence of Goddess Mahankali, belted out of hundreds of loud-speakers, greeted devotees who started trickling in at the temple from the wee hours of Sunday. Several VIPs including the Chief Ministers of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh -- K Chandrashekar Rao and N Chandrababu Naidu, ministers E Rajendar, K Padma Rao, G Jagdish Reddy and politicians like K Kavitha, G Kishan Reddy, Erraballi Dayakar Rao, V Srinivas Goud and others made a beeline to seek blessings of the Goddess. Addressing media after seeking the blessings of the deity, Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao said that Telangana was possible only because of the blessings of the Goddess.
He said that he prayed for good rainfall and overall well-being of the state. He further recalled that it was the TRS party which recognized Bonalu and Bathukamma as state festivals.
Separate State of Telangana has become reality only with the blessings of Ujjaini Mahakali of Secunderabad. I seek the blessings of the Goddess for good rainfall and overall well-being of the State. I take pride in recognising Bonalu and Bathukamma as State festivals.
The festivities drew large number of devotees from different parts of the city and even districts. A large number of Potharajus added colour to the occasion.
The lanes and the bylanes surrounding the temple were decked up with flowers and coconut branches besides the glittering lights all through the one-km area surrounding the temple.
Even the Mahankali police station, which looks gloomy all through the year, was lit up with dazzling decorations which captivated the attention of the visitors. Elaborate security was visible in the area as Bonalu has been declared State festival by the TRS-led Telangana government.
All the wine shops surrounding Secunderabad remained closed as the police imposed restrictions on them and also on a of few roads to maintain a strict vigil and to avert any kind of unpleasant incidents.
The police informed that a total of 1,000 police were pressed into action along with the metal detectors near all the passages, which the devotees had to pass through. Enhancing the security further, the temple was kept under total surveillance to avert any possible threat. Notwithstanding with their arrangements, the general public were complaining about the highhandedness of the police.
Visitors kept complaining about the long queues and blamed the special treatment given to VIPs. Several devotees said they hardly got a chance get a glimpse of the holy deity as the temple was overcrowded with security personnel and VIP family members.
Strangely, Ujjaini Mahankali temple chairman Suruti Krishna was denied entry by the overzealous security personnel. His pleas fell on deaf ears. He could succeed in reaching the sanctum sanctorum of the temple after making a barrage of calls to his colleagues in the temple committee.
News Posted: 14 July, 2014
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