AP Ministers Review Chandanotsavam Festival Arrangements in Visakhapatnam

The review meeting took place at the Collectorate meeting hall in Visakhapatnam, where officials discussed arrangements to ensure smooth conduct of the annual religious event, which draws a large number of devotees each year.

Speaking to ANI, Endowments Minister Anam Ramanarayana Reddy said that the festival is set to take place at the renowned Sri Varaha Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple, located on the Simhachalam Hills in Visakhapatnam.

"On April 20th, a renowned festival, the Chandanotsavam, is set to take place in Visakhapatnam, specifically at the shrine of Sri Varaha Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy located on the Simhachalam Hills. The government is overseeing all aspects of the arrangements, with the District Collector serving as the officer-in-charge for this festival. From the Endowments Department's side, the Endowments Commissioner is in charge. Furthermore, the Minister-in-charge, Dr. Bala Veeranjaneya Swamy, will periodically monitor and ensure that all arrangements are properly managed," Reddy said.

He further stated that Minister-in-charge Dola Bala Veeranjaneya Swamy will periodically review the arrangements to ensure that all preparations are carried out efficiently and without any lapses.

Meanwhile, Palla Srinivasa Rao, TDP State President and MLA from Gajuwaka, highlighted the scale of the event and stressed the importance of crowd management measures.

"This is a massive event held annually, attracting nearly 150,000 pilgrims. Drawing lessons from past experiences--particularly an incident that occurred last year--we are exercising heightened caution and implementing additional measures to prevent any untoward incidents," he said.

He also appealed to devotees to cooperate with authorities, particularly in adhering to designated darshan time slots.

"I also appeal to the public to extend their cooperation to us in this endeavour. Specifically regarding Darshan tickets booked by devotees, each ticket is assigned a designated time slot. I urge people to arrive for Darshan strictly within their allotted time slot. It has been observed that, generally, even those holding evening slots attempt to arrive in the morning for Darshan, which leads to operational difficulties," Srinivasa Rao added.

- ANI