Somnath Swabhiman Parv spl train begins from Vijayawada

Vijayawada: The ‘Somnath Swabhiman Parv’ special train carrying 1,060 devotees from 21 prominent temples across Andhra Pradesh departed from Vijayawada Railway Station for Veraval in Gujarat on Sunday.

Government Whip and Vijayawada Central MLA Bonda Umamaheswara Rao, NTR District Collector Dr G Lakshmisha and Endowments Commissioner K Ramachandra Mohan jointly flagged off the special pilgrimage train from Platform No. 1.

The pilgrimage is being organised as part of the year-long ‘Somnath Swabhiman Parv – 1000 Years of Unbroken Faith’, commemorating 1,000 years since the historic attack on the Somnath temple and 75 years since its reconstruction in 1951. The programme is being conducted nationwide from January 2026 to January 2027.

Speaking on the occasion, MLA Bonda Umamaheswara Rao said the pilgrimage aimed to showcase the country’s cultural heritage, spiritual traditions and enduring faith associated with the Somnath temple. He said it was a matter of pride that more than 1,000 devotees from Andhra Pradesh were travelling to the sacred shrine as representatives of the State’s spiritual traditions.

Collector Dr G Lakshmisha said an 18-coach FTR special train, comprising 16 sleeper coaches and two SLR coaches, had been arranged from Vijayawada to Veraval for the convenience of the pilgrims.

He said arrangements had been made in coordination with the Union Ministry of Culture, Gujarat government, IRCTC, Railways and Andhra Pradesh government departments.

Endowments Commissioner K Ramachandra Mohan said 1,060 devotees from 21 temples had been selected for the pilgrimage and were being sent free of cost on the special train.

He said elaborate arrangements had been made in coordination with the Endowments, Cultural and Railway departments.

A 100-member cultural troupe is also accompanying the devotees to showcase Andhra Pradesh’s traditional art and cultural forms at Somnath.

Officials said food, drinking water, accommodation and medical facilities would be provided and monitored throughout the journey.

The devotees were drawn from major temples including Sri Durga Malleswara Swamy temple at Indrakeeladri, Dwaraka Tirumala, Annavaram, Simhachalam, Srisailam, Kanipakam, Srikalahasti, Arasavalli, Mopidevi, Mahanandi, Kadiri and other prominent shrines.

State Drama Academy Chairman Gummadi Gopalakrishna and Cultural Department Director R Mallikarjuna Rao, along with Endowments and Railway officials, participated in the flag-off programme.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

The Hans India