‘Rottela panduga’ commences

• It is a festival which symbolises religious harmony
• Devotees from across the country and also abroad pour into Nellore city
• Pilgrims exchange ‘rottelu’ after securing blessing at Bara Shaheed Dargah

Nellore: “Rottela Panduga’ a festival, which symbolises religious harmony, got off to a start in Bara Shaheed Dargah in Nellore district on Tuesday. The streets in the city became a chock-a-block with devotees pouring in from not only across the State but also several parts of the country and abroad.

State Minister P Narayana, Mayor Abdul Azeez and Municipal Corporation Commissioner Chakdradhar were deputed to supervise the arrangements for the festival.

Devotees, after having holy dip in Swarnala Cheruvu (tank), made a beeline to Bara Shaheed Dargah to secure blessing from the priests. They are presenting “chaddars” to the priests. This is how the devotees offer gifts during the festival to redeem their vows.

Thousands of devotees, cutting across religion and creed, thronged the Dargah. It was traditional for devotees to exchange “rottelu” District administration made special arrangements for the devotees. The dargah was divided into seven zones. A large contingent of sanitary staff was deployed there to keep the premises spick and span during the four-day festival. Mobile toilets were also provided on the premises. Municipal Corporation made efforts to ensure abundant drinking water on the premises of the Dargah.

A 15,000-strong police force was deployed in the city to ensure that there were no untoward incidents during the festival. A police control room was also set on the premises. The police installed 400 closed-circuit cameras around the Swarna Chervu. The personnel armed with metal detectors were seen going round.