Devotees fume at mishandling of crowd at under-renovation Rajanna temple

Rajanna Sircilla: A heavy influx of devotees at the famed Sri Parvathi Rajarajeshwara Swamy Temple in Vemulawada — popularly known as Dakshina Kashi — caused challenge to authorities to manage the ever increasing crowd due to ongoing Kartika month at the shrine on Monday.

Ongoing development and expansion works in key parts of the shrine forced authorities to close several entry points, leaving thousands of devotees confused in overcrowded queues. From the early hours, long lines stretched across the temple streets as devotees queued up for darshan.

As part of expansion activities, the western side of the temple was closed, allowing entry only through the eastern gate. The decision — made without prior public intimation — caused severe congestion, particularly on Karthika Mondays, when footfall is at its peak. Devotees from distant towns and villages said the single operational route left them confused and struggling to reach the sanctum.

With swelling crowds at the main entrance, temple authorities restricted entry via the Rajagopuram side only. Hundreds gathered outside the closed gates, resulting in chaos.

Police erected barricades and deployed additional personnel for crowd management. SB CI Ravikumar, Rural CI Srinivas, SI Ella Goud, and Traffic SI Raju personally supervised the situation along with their teams to ensure smooth movement and reduce inconvenience to devotees.