Tribal festival Sammakka Saralamma Maha Jathara begins in Telangana

Meanwhile, thousands of devotees gathered at Medaram, a remote place in the Eturnagaram Wildlife Sanctuary in the district.

The ‘Medaram Jathara’ festival is held once every two years in Medaram village.

Over two crore devotees are expected to visit the festival this year, officials said, adding about 50 lakh people have already visited Medaram ahead of the Jathara.

Also Read: Poor infrastructure remains a bane of the Medaram temple festival

Elaborate arrangements for fest

Elaborate arrangements have been made for the smooth conduct of the festival and about 14,000 policemen have been deployed as part of security arrangements.

The Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) said it will be operating 6,000 buses to support the transport requirements of the devotees.

Day one of ‘Medaram Jathara’ is celebrated as the arrival of ‘Saralamma’ onto the Medaram Gaddhe’ (platform). The second day is celebrated as the arrival of ‘Sammakka’ onto the Medaram Gaddhe’. ‘Sammakka’ is welcomed amidst official homage from the police and government.

According to officials, Sammakka Saralamma Maha Jathara’ is one of the largest tribal religious congregations which witnesses devotees from states including Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Jharkhand.

Devotees offer white jaggery to the presiding deities of a quantity equal to their weight and take a holy bath in ‘Jampanna Vagu’ (stream).

Earlier today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi greeted people at the start of the ‘Sammakka-Sarakka Medaram Jathara’.

(Disclaimer: The headline, subheads, and intro of this report along with the photos may have been reworked by South First. The rest of the content is from a syndicated feed, and has been edited for style.)