Thousands begin New Year at temples as faith draws crowds across Hyderabad

While celebrations and parties marked the arrival of the New Year across Hyderabad, the first day of 2026 also saw a strong spiritual turnout, with thousands of residents heading to temples across the city to seek blessings. From early morning hours, devotees from all age groups, many dressed in new and colourful attire, queued up patiently, with waiting times stretching into hours at several temples.

At the Sri Jagannath Temple in Banjara Hills, large crowds gathered through Thursday morning to offer prayers and begin the year on a devotional note. Similar scenes played out at the Birla Mandir, where devotees lined up along the hill pathway leading to the temple, resulting in extended darshan times.

A devotee at Birla Mandir said the rush was heavy but manageable. “We reached the temple around 12.15 and it took us about an hour to reach the sanctum for darshan. We have been coming here every New Year for many years, and this time the wait was actually shorter compared to previous years,” the devotee said.

Anticipating the New Year surge, temple authorities across Hyderabad made elaborate arrangements to streamline crowd movement. These included extended queue lines, additional laddu counters, drinking water facilities and volunteer support to assist elderly devotees and families with children. Police personnel and temple staff were deployed to ensure smooth crowd regulation and safety.