Minister K. Satyanarayana had to face a bitter experience during his maiden visit on Friday to the famed Sri Kalahastheeswara Swamy temple in Srikalahasti town after taking over the Endowments portfolio recently.
Apart from the common devotees, those who had performed ‘Rahu Ketu Puja’ were also about to have darshan when the authorities ordered a halt to the moving queue, keeping in view the security protocol that had to be followed for the Minister’s visit.
The jostling of the crowd due to the weekend pile-up, the sweltering heat and the prolonged waiting made the devotees lose their patience, who began shouting slogans of ‘Go back!’ as the Minister entered the temple.
The incident left Mr. Satyanarayana as well as his entourage red-faced.
However, instead of beating a hasty retreat, the Minister walked towards the crowd and tried to pacify the devotees, who then narrated their woes to him.
“We have been waiting for nearly four hours in the queue. There is nobody to even give us some drinking water. Many people have fainted out of exhaustion after standing for so long in the queue,” a devotee told the Minister. Others complained about the lack of arrangements to deal with the rush, following which the Minister asked the temple management that the queue lines be allowed to move again.
