12-day Saraswati Pushkaralu begins at Kaleshwaram

In Telangana, the 12-day Saraswati Pushkaralu  have begun early this morning at the temple town Kaleshwaram, the abode of Sri Kaleshwara Sri Mukteshwara Swamy temple, in Jayashankar Bhupalpally district. 

The once-in-12-years mega religious fete is dedicated to worshipping the subterranean Saraswati River, which converges with the Godavari and the Pranahita  at the confluence point called ‘Triveni Sangamam’ in Kaleshwaram. The rituals of Pushkaralu have begun with Ganapthi pooja at Kaleswaram, a town bordering Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli district. State Industries Minister D Sridhar Babu took a holy dip to commence the rituals. Spiritual leaders, eminent personalities and public representatives took part.

The entire temple town has been decked up befitting the occasion with a tent city coming up along the sprawling bathing ghats in the historic pilgrimage centre. The authorities informed that the 12-day event



will witness River Harathi, by pandits of the famous Kashi Vishwanath temple in Varanasi of Uttar Pradesh and a host of devotional programmes.

A road has been laid between the VIP bathing ghat and the Godavari ghat. Showers have been installed at the bathing ghats on the banks of the Godavari. Around 50 special officers have been appointed to oversee the sanitation measures during the 12-day event. Dozens of ace swimmers and traditional boats have been deployed along the river course in the temple town to ensure the safety of the pilgrims. 

Around 3,500 police personnel have been deployed for bandobust, and as many as 200 CCTV cameras have been installed in the temple town.

Arrangements have been put in place for drone-aided surveillance on the temple town as a safety precaution. NDRF, SDRF and Singareni rescue teams have been stationed in the temple town.