Vijayawada: The11-day Dasara Sarannavaratri festivities commenced on a grand scale at Sri Durga Malleswara Swamy Varla Devasthanam atop Indrakeeladri here on Monday. On the inaugural day, the presiding deity Goddess Kanaka Durga was beautifully adorned as Sri Bala Tripura Sundari Devi and blessed devotees with her divine darshan.

The festivities commence with the sacred Snapanabhishekam ritual, followed by the opening of Darshan for devotees at 8 am, officially signalling the start of the celebrations. The temple’s Vedic Committee conducted special pujas, while thousands of devotees lined up from the early morning hours to witness the goddess’ first Alankaram.

Minister for Endowments Anam Ramanarayana Reddy and Minister for Home and Disaster Management Vangalapudi Anitha, Vijayawada West MLA Yalamanchili Satyanarayana Chowdary alias Sujana Chowdary, NTR district collector Dr G Lakshmisha, and Police Commissioner SV Rajasekhar Babu were among the first to have Darshan. They later offered prayers and inspected arrangements for devotees inside the temple premises.

On the occasion, Minister Ramnarayana Reddy inaugurated the newly built Yagasala, constructed by S Narasimha Rao. Speaking to the media, he said: “The Dasara festival is the pride of Andhra Pradesh. Thousands of devotees are coming with devotion, and queue lines are moving smoothly. Our government has ensured coordination among all departments to provide a hassle-free Darshan experience. Nearly 4,500 police personnel have been deployed for security, and separate slots are allotted for protocol Darshans to avoid inconvenience to common devotees.” Home Minister Vangalapudi Anitha expressed happiness over visiting the temple on the first day of the celebrations. She remarked: “It is a blessing to take the first Darshan of Goddess Kanaka Durga during Sharannavaratri. I appreciate the efforts of district officials and temple authorities for making elaborate arrangements and ensuring that devotees are satisfied with the Darshan process.”

Collector’s family offers pujas

Later, NTR district collector Dr G Lakshmisha, along with his family, visited the temple and performed special pujas. Endowments Commissioner K Ramachandra Mohan and Temple Executive Officer VK Seena Naik facilitated the rituals. Vedic scholars blessed the Collector’s family, while senior officials including the Collector, CP Rajasekhar Babu, and EO Seena Naik also carried the Utsava idols of the goddess as part of the traditions.

In the evening, former Vice-President of India M Venkaiah Naidu, along with Kaikaluru MLA Kamineni Srinivas and MLA Sujana Chowdary, offered prayers at the temple. Addressing the media, Naidu said: “It gives me immense joy to have the Darshan of Goddess Kanaka Durga during Navratri. I prayed for the welfare and prosperity of Andhra Pradesh and its people, and for protection from anti-social elements. I extend warm greetings to everyone on the auspicious occasion of Vijaya Dasami.”

With thousands of devotees expected to visit in the coming days, officials reiterated that all arrangements have been made to ensure smooth conduct of the state’s biggest annual festival.