As weather turns favourable, devotees trek, chanting ‘Govinda’, ‘Govinda’

Visakhapatnam : Chanting ‘Govinda’, ‘Govinda’ all along the stretches of ‘Giri Pradakshina’, scores of people commenced their trek to Simhachalam in Visakhapatnam.

As the district witnessed heavy rains for the past two days, many were reluctant to trek. However, with the weather being merciful on Saturday, devotees began their Giri Pradakshina with ease. Organised by Simhachalam Sri Varaha Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Devasthanam, the annual festival of one of the ancient temples in Andhra Pradesh witnessed heavy rush.

As the rains receded, several devotees from various parts of the district and neighbouring districts came forward to circumambulate the hills.

Lord Varaha Sri Lakshmi Narasimha’s ‘pushparatham’ (flower chariot) began from Tholipavancha downhill amidst various cultural activities. Simhachalam Trust Board chairman P Ashok Gajapathi Raju flagged off the ‘pushparatham’ at Tholipavancha. Executive Officer of the Devasthanam S Srinivasa Murthy, priests and temple engineering officials, among others, were among those who were present in the event.

Thousands of devotees started the circumambulation of Giri by breaking coconuts at Tholipavancha. Although there were light showers in some areas, there was no hindrance to the walk. The district administration, GVMC, endowments, police, medical and health departments coordinated with one another to make convenient arrangements for devotees.

Representatives from several voluntary organisations served refreshments to the devotees along the way. SBI Pensioners’ Club, Mudasarlova Walkers’ Association, Dr VS Krishna College Old Students Forum, Human Rights Council for India, Sathya Sai Seva organisations and various colony associations and seva sangams came forward to serve the devotees along the stretch byoffering them food packets and water. To help relieve pain of the trekkers, members of Sri Sathya Sai Seva Dal gave a foot massage to the devotees applying customised oil on their feet.

Apart from supplying drinking water, GVMC provided temporary toilets in many areas. Special medical camps were set up and medical and health department staff distributed the required medicines to the devotees. RTC is operating special buses to reach Simhachalam junction. The police department deployed teams for supervision and ensured the festival was organised hassle-free.

The officials were monitoring the movement of devotees from the command control room. As lakhs of devotees headed towards Simhachalam to complete the 32-km-long circumambulation, traffic at several roads came to a standstill. Commuters have to wait for hours on the roads as traffic moved at a snail’s pace across the route where the trek was held.