Vijayawada: Sri Durga Malleswara Swamy Varla Devasthanam atop Indrakeeladri witnessed a significant rush as thousands of devotees continued to throng the temple to relinquish their deeksha on the second day of the Bhavani Deeksha Viramana on Sunday.While 42,000 Bhavani devotees visited the temple on the first day, about 57,750 devotees had darshan till 6 p.m., seeking blessings of the presiding deity Goddess Kanaka Durga.Darshan on Sunday started at 3 a.m. itself and continued till 11 p.m. Bhavani devotees first completing their Giri Pradakshina. They then joined the queue lines to relinquish their deeksha and seek the blessings of the Goddess.Temple authorities anticipate that the number of devotees relinquishing their deeksha by the end of the second day will cross 70,000, considering the rush at the temple. Prasadam counters sold around 2.70 lakh laddus, while 10,228 devotees had their tonsure at the Keshakandan Shala till 6 p.m. on Sunday.Home minister Vangalapudi Anitha, Telangana minister Seetakka, and Kannada actor Upendra and his latest movie team were among those who had the darshan. Durga Temple executive officer K.S. Rama Rao welcomed the home minister and other VIPs with full temple honours before they had their darshan.Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) set up conveyor belts to clear the clothes left at the ghats by devotees after relinquishing their deeksha. This ensured that the ghats remained clean and tidy. VMC chief Dhyanachandra directed officials to set up more mobile toilets along the Giri Pradakshina paths for the convenience of Bhavani devotees.
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