Vijayawada: Nine-day Dussehra festival begins at Sri Kanakadurga temple

The nine-day long Navratri festival celebrations at Sri Kanakadurga temple atop Indrakeeladri hill begun on Sunday.

To celebrate the occasion, the temple administration has decorated its premises with illumination and flowers.

"Goddess Durga will appear as Swarna Kavachalankruta Durga Devi on the first day of the nine-day festival. The devotees are being allowed to take darshan from 9 am onwards," Stanacharyulu, Chief Priest of the temple said.

The devotees will be allowed to take darshan from 3 am to 11 pm in the remaining eight days beginning from Monday.

The temple administration will also provide free meals for the devotees. Similarly, free drinking water and buttermilk will be distributed in the queue lines.

"Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy will offer silk saree to the Goddess on October 5 on the auspicious occasion of goddess Durga's birth star, Moola Nakshatram. Minister for Endowments Velampalli Srinivas, who is also local MLA, has taken the responsibility to orgze the festival with fervor," Poorna Chandra Rao, Regional Joint Commissioner, Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam said.

"State Minister Kannababu is monitoring the festival arrangements along with government machinery. A special control room has been set up at the guest house which is at the footsteps of Indrakeeladri hill to supervise the devotees' traffic," he added.

As per estimates, nearly 16 lakh devotees may visit the temple during the nine-day festival. As many as 5,700 staff including those from Police, revenue, and other departments have been deployed for festival duties.

( With inputs from ANI )