Sammakka-Sarakka Festival: Medaram A Sea Of Devotees

The biennial tribal fair of Sammakka and Sarakka in the Medaram village in the Tadvai forest area of the Warangal district is attracting several lakh devotees.

The Telangana government has also introduced helicopter services for the convenience of devotees who'd like to quickly make it to have a darshan of the presiding deities, and can afford the services, which cost about Rs. 70,000 per head from Hyderabad (round-trip).

The district administration is also providing all the necessary facilities for the people for the four-day event.

Sarakka was brought to the site on Wednesday, and Sammakka was scheduled to be brought on Thursday by 7 pm. According to information received, devotees in thousands have formed serpentine queues and are facing inconveniences in having a glimpse of the deities despite all the arrangements.

Endowment Minister Indrakaran Reddy attended the rituals at the site. The minister said that the State government had made elaborate arrangements for the four-day festival in coordination with all the other departments concerned. Bathing ghats with taps were arranged near the place of worship, and adequate security personnel were on the job to regulate traffic and parking, and civic amenities like water, power, transport and other facilities, he said.

The TSRTC is operating some 4,000 buses to transport devotees from various places to Medaram.