Tirupati: Setting the stage for the mega Maha Sivaratri festival to be celebrated with grandeur at the renowned Sri Kalahas-teeswara Swamy temple, the Endowments Minister has presented the silk clothes on Tuesday.

On the fifth day of the festivities, Minister Anam Ra-manaryana Reddy presented silk clothes to the presiding deities as part of the traditional offerings by the State government. MLA Bojjala Sudheer Reddy and District Col-lector Dr S Venkateswar also accompanied the Minister who performed the ceremonial offering to Lord Sri Kala-hasteeswara Swamy and Goddess Gnana Prasunambika.

Following the presentation, the Minister paid obeisance at the Dhwaja Stambham before having darshan of the dei-ties. The temple priests blessed the dignitaries with Vedic chants at the Ashirvachan Mandapam and presented them with theertha prasadam and portraits of Sri Kalahas-teeswara Swamy.

Several officials and dignitaries attended the event, in-cluding Endowments Commissioner Rama Rao, SP V Harshavardhan Raju, temple executive officer T Bapi Red-dy, Srikalahasti RDO Bhanu Prakash Reddy, temple offi-cials and local representatives.

Earlier in the day, the Endowments Commissioner, repre-senting Sri Durga Malleswara Swamy temple in Vijayawa-da, handed over silk robes to the temple authorities as a gesture of religious camaraderie.

The temple administration has made extensive arrange-ments for the main Maha Sivaratri celebrations scheduled for Wednesday. Devotees from various places have started arriving in large numbers to seek the blessings of the pre-siding deities. The temple authorities have ensured ade-quate amenities for the visiting devotees and made ar-rangements for the distribution of prasadam.

Approximately one lakh laddus and 75,000 vadas have been prepared for the occasion. Special arrangements have been made to ensure a continuous supply of pulihora packets, as the temple’s pulihora prasadam is considered sacred by devotees.

Meanwhile, Tirupati District SP V Harshavardhan Raju beefed up security arrangements to ensure smooth traffic management and the safety of devotees. The police have deployed a security force of 1,000 personnel for the mega event. A dedicated command control room has been set up to swiftly monitor the incidents if any. The police have inspected all queue lines and taken control of the temple premises.