MAHA SHIVARATRI DRAWS LAKHS TO TEMPLES IN PRAKASAM & GUNTUR DISTS

Illuminated Prabhalu from Guravaiahpalem, Kakani, Purushottapatnam, Kavuru attracted devotees

- EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @Guntur/Ongole

A sea of devotees thronged Sri Trikoteswara Swamy temple in Kotappakonda on Maha Shivaratri, offering prayers and performing rituals from the early hours of Wednesday. Special pujas began at 3 am, filling the temple with Vedic chants and the fragrance of incense.

Officials estimated that over 15 lakh devotees would visit the temple and the two-day fair at the hill's foothill, making it one of the region's largest religious gatherings.

To manage the crowd, 3,000 police personnel were deployed, and a special control room was set up to monitor movement and traffic. Guntur Range Deputy Inspector General Sarvasreshtha Tripathi, Collector Arun Babu, and SP Srinivasa Rao inspected security arrangements.

To accommodate the influx of pilgrims, APSRTC operated over 500 special bus services from Narasaraopet, Chilakaluripet, Vinukonda, Guntur, Addanki, and Ongole.