Thousands of people thronged temples and churches in the twin cities today on the occasion of New Year day.
The New Year was ushered in amidst colourful celebrations and exchanges of greetings since Monday night. Special prayers were held in the churches at midnight to welcome the New Year, and special programs were conducted this morning.
Popular temples in the Telugu states witnessed huge crowds. Special arrangements were made in the shrines of Tirumala, Srikalahasti, Vijayawada, Vemulawada and Yadagiri Gutta for the teeming devotees to have darshans.
In the twin cities, people in large numbers visited Birla Mandir and other temples and offered prayers. The temples were specially decorated for the occasion. The Sai Baba temples at Dilsukhnagar, Chaderghat, Punjagutta and other localities, the Ganesh temple in Secunderabad, the Shankar Muth at Nallakunta, the Jagannath temple in Banjara Hills, the Peddamma temple in Jubilee Hills, the Chilkur Balaji temple, the Balaji Bhavan (Sri Venkateswara temple) at Himayath Nagar and various other temples were packed with devotees.
Several thousand devotees visited the Balkampet Yellamma temple and offered special pujas. Tuesdays are considered auspicious to visit the Balkampet Yellamma temple, and today being Tuesday as well as New Year day, the visitors to the temple doubled.
filed in:Temples, Religion, New Year, Celebrations