Devotees throng Srikalahasti temple

Tirupati: Srikalahasti temple witnessed heavy rush on Sunday as thousands of devotees throng the temple to worship Lord Shiva and goddess Gnana Prasunambika. The temple is famous for performing Rahu Ketu pujas especially during Rahu kalam time. As such a total of 4,979 devotees performed Rahu Ketu pujas on Sunday.

According to the temple sources, 3,144 devotees have purchased Rs 500 tickets to perform these pujas while 1,142 have bought Rs 750 tickets. Another 313 people have taken Rs 1,500 tickets and 290 devotees performed the puja by purchasing Rs 2,500 tickets. A total of 90 devotees held the puja separately by buying Rs 5,000 tickets.

Till evening, more than 30,000 devotees have worshipped the presiding deities. Temple authorities have made arrangements for the hassle-free darshan of the devotees. Executive Officer K V Sagar Babu and deputy EO N R Krishna Reddy have visited the queue lines and Rahu Ketu puja mandapams in view of the heavy rush. They made several suggestions to deputy executive engineer G Muralidhar Reddy and other officials for the convenience of the devotees.