Pomp and gaiety mark Bonalu festivities in Old City, final rituals today

The Lal Darwaza temple is all decked up for the Bonalu festivities on Sunday, with thousands of devotees thronging the historic temple in the city. - Sakshi Post

Hyderabad: The Telangana state festival of Bonalu concluded with much pomp and gaiety here on Sunday.

The festival held on the last Sunday of ‘Ashada’ month, saw all the temples in the city, in particular the old city, decked with colourful illuminations and lights. Organisers ensured that loudspeakers at all the temples played devotional and folk songs throughout the day and late into the night. The over 2,000 temples in the city were choc-a-bloc with the faithful, revelers and of course petty businessmen who planned to make a quick buck. Sale of sweetmeats and toys were in full swing at many thoroughfares in the city.

Lal Darwaza temple: However, Lal Dawaza Mahankali temple was the center of attraction for the devote who thronged the temple in thousands since the wee hours of Sunday. The temple administration and the city police made elaborate arrangements to ensure smooth flow of devotees along the queue lines. The importance of the historic Lal Darwaza temple can be gauged by the fact that the Hyderabad Police Commissioner M. Mahender Reddy and GHMC Commissioner B. Janardhan Reddy personally supervised the security and civic arrangements at the temple. It may be recalled that the two chiefs had formally inaugurated the celebrations by taking part in ‘Shikhara Pooja’ and ‘Dhwajarohanam’ on July 23.

Hyderabad Police Commissioner M. Mahender Reddy and GHMC Commissioner B. Janardhan Reddy personally supervised the security and civic arrangements for Bonalu in the city.

Rains fail to dampen the spirit: Incessant rains in the city since one week failed to dampen the spirit of the Bonalu revellers. Many people participated in the Bonalu festivities in the old city braving the spell of rains.

Security for Bonalu: The city police had made elaborate security and traffic arrangements for the Bonalu festivities in the city. In particular security preparedness was high for the Lal Darwaza Mahankali temple, Charminar Bhagyalakshmi temple, Akkanna Madanna temple, Karvan Darbar Maisamma temple and Mir Alam Mandi Mahankali temple. Besides police pickets, personnel of Rapid Action Force and city security wing were in deployed in large numbers at these historic temples for the event.

Incessant rains failed to dampen the spirit of the faithful who thronged in large numbers for Bonalu festivities.

Traffic restrictions: The city police also imposed traffic restrictions at several places for the smooth flow of traffic and to prevent any untoward incidents. Traffic flow at the following places was restricted till Monday: Lal Darwaza, Chatrinaka, Gowlipura, Moghalpura, Chandrayangutta, Gulzar House, Charminar and Siddiamber Bazaar besides at several strategic and communally sensitive areas.

Local leaders queue up: Political leaders of all hues queued up at various temples to participate in the Mahankali Bonalu. Telangana Home minister Nayni Narsimha Reddy, Talasani Srinivas Yadav, Indra Karan Reddy and deputy speaker Padma Devender Reddy were some of the leaders who took part in the festivities.

whatsapp channel


Read More:

Advertisement
Back to Top