Over 85,000 devotees take holy dip on Day 5 of Saraswati Pushkaralu in Kaleshwaram

Hyderabad: Day five of the Saraswati Pushkaralu saw a huge surge of pilgrims at Kaleshwaram, the sacred confluence famed as Dakshina Triveni Sangam. Being a Tuesday considered auspicious for Lord Shiva the ghats were packed with thousands of devotees arriving from across the region.

By end of day, nearly 85,000 people had performed the Pushkara snanam. Women lined the riverbank with oil lamps and floral offerings, carrying out deeparadhana and special pujas before heading to the temple for darshan of Sri Kaleshwara and Mukteshwara Swamy.

Among those who took the holy dip was Nashik’s Tryambakeshwar Peethadhipathi, Mahamandaleshwar Acharya Samvidhananda Saraswati Maharaj, who also conducted elaborate pujas at the temple.

Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Bandi Sanjay Kumar, government whip and Dornakal MLA Dr Ramachandra Nayak, Wyra MLA Ramdas Nayak, Medchal MLA Mallareddy, and High Court Justice Nandikonda Nursing Rao also performed the Pushkara snanam and participated in Abhisheka pujas at the temple.

Medical staff reported treating 121 pilgrims who felt faint due to the heat. Collector Rahul Sharma and SP Kiran Khare were on-site, monitoring arrangements throughout the day.