Trial run held for Tiruchanur ‘Panchami Theertham Saare’
The Hindu
Elaborate arrangements are being made for the Karthika Brahmotsavams at the Padmavathi temple at Tiruchanur
The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) conducted a trial run for the ‘Panchami Threetham Saare’ ahead of the Karthika Brahmotsavams of the Sri Padmavathi temple at Tiruchanur, in Tirupati on Thursday.
More than one lakh devotees throng Tiruchanur to witness the ‘Panchami Theertham’ rituals performed on the penultimate day of the nine-day event.
TTD Joint Executive Officer V. Veerabrahmam, who monitored the trial run conducted in the stretch between Chenna Reddy Colony in Alipiri and Pasupu Mandapam in Tiruchanur, later reviewed the arrangements with Chief Vigilance and Security Officer Narasimha Kishore, Additional Superintendent of Police Kula Sekhar, TTD Chief Engineer Nageswara Rao, SVBC Chief Executive Officer Shanmukh Kumar and other officials.
As elephants would carry the ‘Saare’ (a collection of sacred birthday gifts from Lord Venkateswara to His beloved spouse Sri Padmavathi) from Tirumala to Tiruchanur, Mr. Veerabrahmam suggested crowd control measures to prevent the animals from getting into panic mode. He urged the district police to enforce security and traffic regulations in the vicinity on that day.
The ‘Padma Sarovaram’, in which the Goddess appeared on a golden lotus according to legends, is also getting a facelift ahead of the festival, as tens of thousands of devotees take a holy dip there. Mr. Veerabrahmam discussed the arrangements made at the entry and exit gates, sheds for devotees and barricades to prevent jostling, besides facilities such as ‘Annaprasadam’, drinking water and temporary toilets.
In 2021, five women from Mayithara, four of them MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) workers, found a common ground in their desire to create a sustainable livelihood by growing vegetables. Rajamma M., Mary Varkey, Valsala L., Elisho S., and Praseeda Sumesh, aged between 70 and 39, pooled their savings, rented a piece of land and began their collective vegetable farming journey under the Deepam Krishi group.