Suryapet: Lakhs of devotees thronged to Suryapet on Tuesday to take part in Peddagattu Jatara, believed to be the second-largest religious festival in Telangana after Medaram. The biennial festival began on Monday with about six lakh people from various states — Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Karnataka and Telangana, among others — attending the event and sacrificing goats, sheep, and poultry to God Lingamanthulu Swamy and Goddess Choudamma.
Even on Tuesday, the temple was crowded with devotees, who came with bonams and other offerings to the god.
The temple premises reverberated with devotees chanting ‘O linga… O linga’ to the beats of drums and dhols. People were seen doing pradakshinas and dancing around the main temple with their offerings. “We never miss attending Peddagattu Jatara. Anything we wish for comes true, and we come back to show our gratitude to God,” said Kamalamma A, who came from a nearby village for the jatara. She said it took her over an hour to complete darshanam, and many of her relatives had to return without it owing to long queues.
Many said that the crowd on the Durajpalli hillock, where the temple is located, was well-managed by the police and other govt officials.
The Peddagattu Jatara dates back to the 16th century and has been organised in Suryapet since then.
Declare jatara a state festival
But several devotees and priests from the Yadav community complained about the festival not getting its due in the state. They urged the govt to declare it a state festival so that it gets more funds and publicity. “It is not much advertised despite the scale, either in the state or elsewhere. The same is not the case with Medaram as it is well-known,” said Tanda Ramaswamy, a priest at the temple.
Seconding Ramaswamy, 75-year-old Konda Lingaiah Goud, who has been visiting the jatara since he was a child, said that the govt is not doing enough to promote jatara. “It feels like every year the number of people coming for the festival is dropping. A festival like this needs to be supported by govt,” he added.
Members from Baikani and tera chirala communities — priests from here perform rituals at the jatara — also demanded that they be identified as ‘special priests’.
Need more funds
The chairman of the temple, Poleboyina Narsaiah Yadav, told TOI that the endowments department, despite announcing Rs one crore for the jatara, has not released a paisa till date. They said that even funds released by other departments — Rs 5 crore in total—are yet to be credited to their account. “We are dependent on funds generated through selling coconuts, laddu, and devotees tonsuring the head,” he added.
K Bhaskar, assistant commissioner, endowments, Nalgonda, confirmed that funds, though sanctioned, were yet to be released as there is an election code in place.
