Temples in Old City spruced up for Bonalu

The Akkanna Madanna temple at Haribowli and the Mahankali temple at Lal Darwaza are getting a fresh coat of paint and its interiors are being cleaned. The 11-day long Bonalu festival would start today and conclude with a procession on July 21.

Every day at 6 am, devotees would be thronging the Mahankali temple. Balwant Yadav, president, Mahankali temple, says, “People from all over the city come to offer puja in the mornings as well as evening.”

GHMC Commissioner Somesh Kumar would be visiting the temple today and ‘Dwaja Rohanam’ would be done. As per traditions, Khumba Abhishekam would be done and the Police Commissioner would be visiting the temple too.

A Manik Prabhu Goud, JAC co-convenor and an active member of the temple said that Prof M Kodandaram would be visiting the temple and on the occasion 2,000 lamps would be lit. Prof Kodandaram had taken a vow that once the new state of Telangana was formed he would visit the temple.

Work at the Akkanna Madanna temple at Haribowli too is in full swing as a sizable number of people visit the temple. 81-year-old A Padma Rao, member of the temple committee said that the temple has a great tradition and is a symbol of Hindu-Muslim unity.

The Maha Ghatam will be brought in a procession from Kashi Vishwanath temple at Shahalibanda and installed at Akkanna Madanna Mahankali temple on July 13.

The main Bonalu festival will be observed in the Old City on July 20.

The temple committees are conducting various competitions in cycling, elocution, rangoli and a few sports. Bonalu also called as Ashada Jatara, is an annual Hindu festival, which begins from the very first day of Telugu calendar month of Ashadam. Goddess Mahakali is worshipped during the month since the erstwhile Hyderabad State.

With the TRS government announcing that Batukamma and Bonalu would be celebrated as state festivals, the people in the old city are a happy lot. P Madhusudan Rao, city executive member, BJP said that there is a spring in people’s.