The celebrations for the festival of Bonalu were kicked off at a grand scale at Hyderabad's historic Golconda Fort today.
Taking advantage of the pleasant weather, a large number of brightly clad devotees, most of them women and girls carrying traditional bonam offerings for goddess Jagadamba, attended the ceremony amid much fanfare and excitement.
Among the many devotees participating in the rituals today were Telangana Environment and Forests Minister A Indrakaran Reddy and Animal Husbandry Minister T Srinivas Yadav. The two offered golden bonams and silk clothes to the deity Jagadamba on behalf of the state government.
Speaking on the occasion, the ministers said that they had prayed to the goddess to root out Covid-19 and other diseases, and to bless the people of the state.
The organisers of the festival, who have made elaborate arrangements for the festivities which could not be observed last year due to the pandemic, have implemented all the necessary Covid-19 safety norms at the venue. For the convenience of the devotees, they have also taken steps to divert traffic away from the fort area.
Bonalu festivities will be held for about two to three weeks, and will conclude in August. The government has already made the arrangements necessary for the smooth conduct of the celebrations for the same. Police personnel are not only guarding the fort area but have also been regulating traffic and vehicular movement around it.
filed in:Telangana, Bonalu, Celebrations, Festivals, Golconda Fort