Chief Secretary calls for foolproof arrangements for Godavari Pushkarams in 2027

Andhra Pradesh Chief Secretary K. Vijayanand has directed the Secretaries to prepare department and district-wise action plans from now itself for the smooth conduct of the Godavari Pushkarams scheduledfrom June 26 to July 7, 2027, by drawing from the experiences of the Maha Kumbh Melaheld in Allahabad.

Addressing a meeting of the Committee of Secretaries constituted by the government for successfully organising the mega event, on Friday, Mr. Vijayanand said the government had also formed a Group of Ministers and appointed Health Commissioner G. Veerapandian as the special officer.

He directed the Collectors to prepare and submit detailed DPRs on aspects such as identifying bathing ghats, drinking water, sanitation, transportation, medical camps, security, crowd management, traffic management and coordination of emergency services.

Mr. Vijayanand stressed the need for foolproof arrangements in Alluri Sitharama Raju, Eluru, East Godavari, Kakinada, West Godavari and Konaseema districts (with due focus on Rajahmundry city) through which the Godavari river flows, and the use of advanced technologies for handling the massive crowds.

Mr. Veerapandian mentioned that 4.86 crore devotees had taken the holy dip in the Godavari during the 2015 Pushkarams and the number could be between nine crore and 10 crore people in 2027.

Endowments Commissioner Ramachandra Mohan, RTGS CEO Prakhar Jain, Water Resources Department Chief Engineer Seshu Babu and other officials were present.

Principal Secretaries S. Suresh Kumar and Shashibhushan Kumar, RTC MD Dwaraka Tirumala Rao, Additional DGP (L&O) N. Madhusudan Reddy, APTDC MD K. Amrapali and Director of I&PR K.S. Viswanathan, and Collectors of the aforementioned districts took part virtually.