Hyderabad: Thousands of devotees from Telangana and Maharashtra flocked to the renowned Ujjaini Mahankali temple in Secunderabad to seek blessings from Goddess Mahankali on the auspicious occasion of the "Bonalu" festival on Sunday.
Devotees, including a significant number of women carrying beautifully adorned earthen pots filled with "Bonam" (Rice cooked with milk and jaggery), have formed long queues near the temple since dawn to have darshan and present their offerings to the deity.
In the morning, Telangana Minister T Srinivas Yadav had the honour of offering the first bonam to the Goddess.
Minister Talasani, while addressing the media, emphasised the grandeur with which the Bonala festival has been celebrated since the formation of Telangana state. He highlighted that on the occasion of Ashada Bonala, he personally presented the first bonam to Sri Ujjaini Mahankali in Secunderabad.
The Bonala festivals hold significant cultural importance, and after the formation of Telangana state, Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR) declared them a state festival. Since 2014, the government has been taking care of all the arrangements for the Bonala festival.
The minister mentioned that the government provides financial assistance to temples to support the festival's maintenance, including private temples, making Telangana the only state in the country to do so. Minister Talasani assured that all the necessary arrangements had been made to ensure the convenience of the thousands of devotees visiting during Bonalu.
He further revealed that special queues have been set up exclusively for women offering bonalu.
To ensure the safety of the devotees, a heavy security presence of 1,500 police personnel has been deployed, along with comprehensive CCTV surveillance. In view of the festival, traffic restrictions have also been implemented around the temple premises. (UNI)