10-day Dasara festivities end ‘Teppotsavam’ adapted due to inflow of floodwaters

The 10-day Dasara festivities concluded at the Sri Durga Malleswara Swamyvarla Devasthanam in Vijayawada on Saturday. Usually, the celebrations conclude with the ‘Teppotsavam’, the celestial boat ride, of goddess Kanaka Durga and her consort Malleswara Swamy, on Vijayadashami. However, the Kanaka Durga temple administration could not conduct Teppotsavam this time as flood waters reached the Prakasam Barrage constructed across River Krishna. However, the swan boat was stationed at Durga ghat to complete the ritual. Around 50,000 cusecs of flood water have reached the Prakasam Barrage from upstream. The Irrigation Department officials urged the temple authorities to make alternative arrangements for conducting the ‘Teppotsavam’ one day in advance.
The temple authorities could not complete at least three rounds of the boat ride in Krishna River. The temple priests merely placed the processional deities on the well illuminating the boat anchored near the Durga Ghat. Amidst the recitation of Vedic hymns by the priests, the One Town police, in tune with the age-old tradition, brought the processional deities to the riverbank. The deities were brought in a palanquin from the hillock to the Durga ghat. A sea of humanity witnessed the ‘Teppotsavam’ and the environs of Durga Ghat and Prakasam Barrage reverberated with the chanting of ‘Bhavani Mata Ki Jai’.  A razzmatazz of colour and pageantry of firecrackers added spiritual fervour, and it was the ultimate event of the celebrations.
As the sky turned darker, firecrackers exploded presenting a splendid view, and its reflections in Krishna presented a splendid view. The event rang the curtains down on the Dasara. On the day, a huge number of devotees thronged Vijayawada to watch the festival’s concluding celebrations. On the other hand, NTR District Police Commissioner SV Rajasekhar Babu made elaborate security arrangements to prevent any untoward incidents.
The Dasara festivities were a smooth affair.  The officials ensured a hassle-free darshan for common devotees throughout the festival, including on the Moola Nakshatram day, as VIP darshans were not allowed on the day. The devotee turnout on Moola Nakshatram was less compared to previous years. About 1.5 lakh devotees thronged the hill on the day. The rush, usually, was around 1.80 lakh to two lakh.
The rush, however, peaked on Vijayadashami day with over 1.7 lakh devotees visiting the temple. The rush could be witnessed in all nooks and corners of Indrakeeladri. The queue lines were filled with devotees and it took more than four to five hours for them to have darshan. The rush of Bhavani devotees also increased at Kanaka Durga Temple. Hundreds of devotees, mainly from North Coastal Andhra, were seen visiting the temple to relinquish their deeksha.
However, the police stopped the devotees’ vehicles on the city outskirts in view of traffic congestion. As a result, the Bhavani Devotees had difficulty reaching Krishna to take the holy bath before the relinquishment of the Deeksha. Some of them chose padayatra to offer special prayers on Dasara day.  Though temple authorities did not provide any special arrangements for relinquishment, the devotees offered Irumudi (a two-pocket sack filled with rice etc.) on the temple premises.
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