Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) Commissioner Swapnil Dinkar Pundkar instructed officials to make sure that all arrangements are in place for the devotees coming for Bhavani Deeksha relinquishment, set to begin from January 3 (Wednesday).
In a meeting with VMC officials in Vijayawada on January 2 (Tuesday), the Commissioner said for the devotees’ convenience, 200 toilets have been arranged at the bus stand, canal road, Punnami Ghat, Bhavani Ghat, on top of the hill, among other places, and 100 toilets have been arranged at the police personnel’s resting area.
He said more than 16 lakh drinking water packets are being readied to be distributed to devotees at eight places during the five-day relinquishment of thier deeksha at Indrakeeladri.
They are also arranging steel containers filled with water for the use of devotees, the Commissioner said, adding that sanitation is their top priority.
He added that discarded clothes of the devotees at the ghats will be immediately carried through a conveyor belt to.the tractor, which will then transport them to a processing plant. The conveyor belt, 30 metres long, was introduced in September last year to make the job of workers easier.
According to Sri Durga Malleswara Swamywarla Devasthanam authorities, more than 50,000 devotees are expected in the first three days of the programme, and more than 1 lakh are expected to arrive at Indrakeeladri in the last two days on January 6 and 7.
