Chief Festival Officer (CFO) of Endowments Department, S.S. Chandrasekhar Azad, asked the Srisailam temple officials to take steps to provide drinking water to the large number of devotees expected to visit the temple to witness the Maha Sivaratri Brahmotsavams from February 19 to March 1.
Mr. Azad on Monday visited Srisailam and held a review meeting with temple executive officer (EO) M. Srinivasa Rao and other officials on the arrangements to be made for the festivities. The meeting discussed on providing hassle-free darshan to the devotees, arrangements for holy bath at Patalaganga and head tonsuring, traffic regulation, medical and health facilities, vehicle parking and sanitation.
Mr. Azad asked the officials to focus on providing drinking water to the devotees who would be trekking the forests to reach Srisailam. He also wanted them to make temporary arrangements for the devotees to take bath at Hatakeswaram en route Srisailam.
Mr. Azad, who had earlier served as the EO of Srisailam temple asked the officials to provide annaprasadam to the devotees.
Reviewing the arrangements for darshan, the Chief Festival Officer wanted the officials to ensure that devotees were not made to wait for long hours in the queue lines.
Mr. Azad asked the officials to set up notice boards at all important places for the convenience of the visiting devotees. “Maintain sanitation and hygiene in the precincts of the shrine and deploy adequate staff to remove garbage and waste. All the toilets should be cleaned frequently and water should be provided to them,” he instructed the officials.
As devotees from Karnataka would be visiting in large numbers, Mr. Azad asked officials to deploy Shiv Sevaks from the neighbouring State also at the information centres to provide them information. He asked the temple health department to make available all the required medicines at the medical camps in coordination with the state Medical and Health Department.
Mr. Azad said that religious discourses and bhajans should be organised to engage the devotees and also for propagating Hindu dharma. He wanted officials to ensure all facilities at the rooms, cottages, and dormitories maintained by the temple. For this, he wanted a checklist to be maintained and officials to monitor it.
