Nellore all set for ‘Rottela Panduga’ festival
Nellore Rural MLA Kotamreddy Sridhar Reddy and his brother and TDP state spokesperson Kotamreddy Giridhar Reddy took a boat ride at Swarnala Cheruvu in Nellore on Thursday. | Photo credit: HANDOUT
The stage is set for ‘Rottela Panduga’ at Bara Shaheed Dargah in Nellore district. Devotees from all over the country and abroad flock to Swarnala Cheruva to exchange ‘rotis’ on the lake shore while fulfilling their vows and prayers.
Ahead of the five-day festival, Nellore Rural MLA Kotamreddy Sridhar Reddy launched a boating service at the Boating Club near Bara Shahid Dargah on Thursday evening. Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (APTDC) Chairman Nookasani Balaji also attended the event and announced his plans to make the locality a major tourist destination.
Swarnala Cheruvu has got a new radiant look. With the arrival of devotees, the premises of the Dargah will be abuzz with activity and spiritual fervour.
“Rottela Panduga” begins with the “Sandhal Mall” or “Sandal Maali”, a holy ritual of cleaning the graves of martyrs at Bara Shaheed Dargah, on Friday (June 26) and the festival will conclude with a series of events, including a sandal procession on Saturday, the main festival on Sunday, “Tahlil services on Monday and finally the Tahlil 2 Fati marti prayers closing ceremony on Tuesday.
Under the directives of State Administration and Urban Development (MA&UD) Minister Ponguru Narayana and the supervision of Collector Himanshu Shukla, the district administration has completed all arrangements to ensure a hassle-free experience for the devotees.
Municipal Commissioner YO Nandan deployed more than 6,000 sanitation workers to work in three shifts. Special measures have been put in place to ensure immediate removal of all garbage or waste from the vicinity of the Dargah. Besides, drinking water stations were set up in the Dargah premises to provide safe water to devotees and mobile toilets were made available.
Superintendent of Police (SP) Ajith Vejendla announced that a total of 1,600 policemen have been deployed for security duties. Arrangements have been made for round-the-clock monitoring through CCTV cameras and drones in the Dargah premises and parking lots. A control room has been set up to ensure that the entire area of the Dargah remains under police surveillance.
Andhra Pradesh Southern Power Distribution Company (APSPDCL) District Superintendent Engineer K. Raghavendran said 10 special transformers have been installed to ensure uninterrupted power supply. Arrangements have been made to keep the staff constantly alert through a shift based system.
Under the supervision of Joint Director of Fisheries Chand Basha, foolhardy arrangements have been made to avoid any untoward incidents at Swarnala Cheruvu, where devotees take a dip in the sacred bath. A total of 45 experienced swimmers were deployed over three shifts, with 15 swimmers and 15 boats assigned to each shift.
District Fire Officer V. Srinivas Rao informed that 125 firemen from Prakasam, Bapatla, Palnadu, Annamayya, Tirupati and Kadapa districts have been specially deployed. The deployment includes four fire trucks, two lifeboats, a fog missile and a special team equipped with 40 firefighting units. Besides, 10 cleaning pumps have been installed to clean the ghat area.
Published – 25 Jun 2026 20:51 IST