The Secunderabad Ujjaini Mahankali Bonalu festivities began on a grand scale today.
Scores of devotees began to queue up at the temple from the early hours of the day and offered special pujas to the presiding deity.
Telangana Environment Minister A Indrakaran Reddy and Animal Husbandry Minister Talasani Srinivas Yadav participated in the celebrations and presented silk clothes to the deity on behalf of the state government. Reddy and his wife also presented the traditional bonam to the goddess Mahankali on the occasion.
After the prayers, the minister said that he had prayed for the wellbeing of the people of the state, and for a swift end of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
Several other prominent personalities of Telangana, including Himachal Pradesh Governor Bandaru Dattatreya and TPCC Chief A Revanth Reddy, also offered their prayers at the temple. Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao's wife Shoba and TRS MP Joginapally Santosh took part in the celebrations as well.
The state administration has taken several steps to ensure the smooth conduct of the Bonalu festivities. Devotees have been asked to follow all the required Covid-19 prevention and safety norms.
Further, the police have made massive arrangements. 2,500 police personnel have been deployed in and around the temple to avoid any untoward incidents, and 200 CCTV cameras have been set up to monitor the area. The traffic police too have
imposed traffic restrictions on the roads near the temple to give the devotees a "hassle-free darshan experience".