Vijayawada: Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu visited Sri Durga Malleswara Swamy Varla Devasthanam (SDMSD) atop Indrakeeladri on Wednesday, where he offered traditional silk robes to Goddess Kanaka Durga on behalf of the State government.
During the visit, the Goddess was adorned in the form of Sri Saraswati Devi as part of the 10-day Dasara festivities. This annual tradition takes place on Moola Nakshatram, the birth star of Goddess Durga, when the Chief Minister presents silk robes to the presiding deity.
Naidu, accompanied by HRD Minister N. Lokesh and other family members, arrived at the temple around 2 PM and conducted special prayers to Goddess Durga.
Upon arrival, temple executive officer M.V. Suresh Babu and the temple priests welcomed the Chief Minister and his family with a traditional Poornakumbham ceremony. The priests performed Vedic chants while Naidu, carrying the sacred robes on a silver plate atop his head, entered the shrine. After praying to the Goddess, he received blessings from the priests along with a portrait of the Goddess and laddu prasadam.
Temple officials briefed Naidu on recent development works, including repairs and landslide recovery efforts as part of the temple’s master plan. Several leaders, including MP Kesineni Sivanath and MLA Sujana Chowdary, accompanied him.
Speaking to the media, Naidu reaffirmed the government’s commitment to preserving temple traditions. He praised the arrangements made for the Dasara celebrations, noting the significant number of devoted attendees. He highlighted that Vijayadashami symbolizes the victory of good over evil and expressed prayers for the State's prosperity across all sectors. Naidu mentioned that the Kanaka Durga temple is the second largest in the State, following Tirumala, and emphasized the importance of upholding the sanctity of temples.
He also noted that over 696,000 laddus were prepared for distribution, and Anna Prasadam had been served to 100,000 devotees. Naidu expressed satisfaction with the improvements made this year and indicated that feedback was being collected from pilgrims to enhance their experiences. He prayed for good rainfall and the successful progress of key projects like Amaravati and Polavaram.
So far, more than 585,000 pilgrims have visited the Durga temple, with 67,936 devotees having darshan on that day alone for Dasara.