Vemulawada shrine decked up for Sivaratri fete

Vemulawada: Elaborate arrangements have been made for the Maha Sivaratri Jatara which is going to be held from March 10 to 12 at the famous Sri Raja Rajeshwara Swamy temple in Vemulawada of the district.

The officials are expecting 3 to 4 lakh devotees for the three-day Jatara. For the convenience of devotees, temporary sheds, at a cost of Rs 30 lakh, were installed in and around the temple premises keeping in view of severe hot conditions.

The main and adjacent temples were beautifully painted with colours at a cost of Rs 10 lakh and illuminated at a cost of Rs 26 lakh. The welcome arches and flexies have been put up at a cost of Rs 7.9 lakh at main centres in the temple town. Similarly, temporary toilets have been constructed at a cost of Rs 2.4 lakh.

Separate queue lines were also set up besides parking spaces. Temporary road was constructed from Bathukamma Theppa to Thippapur. With an investment of Rs 24 lakh, cultural activities in the name of Shivarachana to be conducted at Gudi Cheruvu.

Along with CCTV cameras present in the temple, as many as 170 extra CCTV cameras, at a cost of Rs 2 lakh, have been installed in the surroundings of the temple. Temporary bus stands were constructed at a cost of Rs 1.6 lakh and funds were also allotted for supplying drinking water to devotees and for the maintenance of sanitation in the surroundings of the temple.

District Collector Krishna Bhaskar, SP Rahul Hegde, Endowments department commissioner Anil Kumar visited the temple several times and inspected the arrangements and gave necessary suggestions to the temple authorities.

Executive Engineer of the temple Rajesh said that steps were taken to complete the works by March 8 and all kinds of facilities would be provided to the devotees who are going to attend the Jatara.