A view of the Arasavalli temple in Srikakulam district, Andhra Pradesh. File
Andhra Pradesh Government is keen to promote temple tourism in Srikakulam district as part of the Ratha Saptami festival which will be celebrated on February 4, 2025.
As more than 3.5 lakh devotees are expected to visit Arasavalli Sri Suryanarayana Swamy temple on the auspicious day, the State Tourism Department has made arrangements to promote temples located in other places too.
According to Srikakulam tourism officer N. Narayana Rao, the Department announced a new tourism package to cover all important temples such as Srikurmanatha Swamy temple of Srikurmam, Endala Mallikarjuna temple of Ravivalasa, tourism spots such as Salihundam Buddhist site, Mogadalapadu beach and others.
Interested people can contact the officials of the Department (Mobile numbers 84979-49494 and 98488-13586) to book a tour package, which is fixed at ₹750 per person. The tickets will be available at the tourism counter established at Sun Rise hotel in Arasavalli road of Srikakulam.
Meanwhile, Collector Swapnil Dinkar Pundkar and other officials have been making arrangements for the Sobha yatra, which will be conducted on February 2, 2025 from the municipal grounds to Arasavilli temple.
He said cultural events and other programmes would be taken up between February 2 and 4, 2025 as the government declared Ratha Saptami as the State festival.
Meanwhile, Srikakulam Urban Development Authority Chairperson Korikana Ravikumar and others took up beautification of the temple premises by laying new roads while removing unauthorised structures and shops established without any permission.
The Police Department planned to utilise services of 1329 personnel to monitor the security and traffic arrangements. Superintendent of Police of Srikakulam district K.V. Maheswar Reddy is monitoring the security arrangements for the three day festival.
Published – January 31, 2025 11:06 am IST