Srisailam sees peak devotee rush ahead of Maha Sivaratri

Nearly two lakh devotees have visited Sri Bhramaramba Mallikarjuna Swamy temple at Srisailam in Nandyal district since the start of Maha Sivaratri Brahmotsavams, officials said on Wednesday. Of the total 1,95,555 who have received darshan, 50,504 were Shiva Deeksha devotees.

According to the officials, the inflow of devotees has steadily increased over the past four days. As many as 45,360 devotees, including 7,000 Siva Swamis, visited the hill temple on February 8. The number rose to 49,015 on February 9, with 15,600 being Deeksha devotees. The footfall peaked on February 10, when 70,930 devotees, including 22,424 Siva Swamis, arrived for darshan. By 1 p.m. Wednesday (February 11), nearly 30,250 devotees had offered prayers, including a turnout of 5,480 Deeksha pilgrims.

District Collector Rajakumari Ganiya and Superintendent of Police (SP) Sunil Sheoran inspected the facilities at various key locations in Srisailam on Wednesday. From the temple’s command control room, both the officials monitored queue lines, traffic flow, darshan arrangements, ‘annadanam’ services, parking areas, medical camps, and amenities for ‘padayatra’ pilgrims through CCTV surveillance.

The SP said that elaborate bandobast and crowd-management measures have been put in place to prevent congestion and for smooth darshan. Special medical teams, mobile ambulances, drinking water points, and sanitation facilities have been arranged. Vehicles are being regulated and diverted to designated parking zones to ease traffic, the SP added.

Meanwhile, the Collector instructed all departments to work in coordination to avoid any inconvenience to the devotees.

The SP also cautioned against spreading unverified information during the Brahmotsavams and warned of legal action against those indulging in false propaganda.