Officials review preparations for ‘Giri Pradakshina’ festival in Visakhapatnam on July 9

District Collector M.N. Harendhira Prasad has directed officials to make comprehensive arrangements for the upcoming Giri Pradakshina, the annual festival of Simhachalam Sri Varaha Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy, scheduled on July 9. He stressed on ensuring a smooth experience for the lakhs of devotees expected to take part in the event without any inconvenience.

He along with and Police Commissioner Shankabratha Bagchi, Joint Collector Ashok Mayur and officials from the Revenue Department and Simhachalam Devasthanam, inspected the 32-kilometre trek route on Tuesday. Later, a review meeting was held at the Collectorate to discuss important aspects including traffic management, queue lines, police bandobast, public address systems and security checkposts.

The Collector issued strict instructions to prevent any stampede-like situations and stressed the need for complete police bandobast. Keeping in view of the large number of devotees, he directed the authorities to make proper arrangements for adequate number of toilets, drinking water, sanitation workers, street lighting, and medical camps. In addition to bio-toilets, he asked officials to ensure devotees utilise facilities at Kalyana Mandapams and schools along the trek route. He also proposed setting up holding points for pilgrims to rest during the journey.

Mr. Harendhira Prasad instructed officials to deploy swimmers at Appughar Beach, where many devotees take a holy dip. He also ordered the closure of liquor outlets along the trek path on July 9 and 10.

Mr Harendhira Prasad said that they will also make use of a special app for devotees to request medical or other urgent assistance. He also mentioned that the ‘Astram’ app would be used by the police for real-time traffic monitoring.

Meanwhile, GVMC Commissioner Ketan Garg, along with officials from GVMC and the Simhachalam Devasthanam, conducted an inspection of the Giri Pradakshina route. He instructed Chief City Planner Prabhakar Rao and Engineering Department officials to intensify pending road development and widening works, particularly along the stretch from Narasimha Nagar through Lakshmi Nagar to Gopalapatnam, including the Hanumanthawaka Junction.