Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on Friday inaugurated the 40-foot-tall new wooden chariot of Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple here in East Godavari district. He joined the local residents and pulled the chariot on the temple premises, where the 10-day annual Kalyanotsavam commenced.
The Chief Minister offered special puja to the deity and enquired about the rituals scheduled to be performed during the annual Kalyanotsav.
Mr. Reddy was accompanied by B.C. Welfare Minister Ch. Venu Gopala Krishna, Endowments Minister Velampalli Srinivasa Rao, Agriculture Minister K. Kannababu and local residents during the formal inauguration of the chariot.
Amalapuram MP Ch. Anuradha, Rajamahendravaram MP Margani Bharat and East Godavari Collector D. Muralidhar Reddy were among those present.
The new chariot will be used for the rathotsavam on February 23, when the deities will be taken out in a procession.
Built in record time
It was with delight that the local residents welcomed the new chariot that was built in a record time after the century-old chariot was destroyed in a fire in September. The work started in September and the chariot was ready by January. The State government had spent ₹90 lakh to build it with 1,250 cubic feet of teak wood brought the Bastar forest in Chhattisgarh.
In early September, following a public outrage over the burning of the temple’s chariot, the State government has handed over the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation. The remains of the old chariot are still preserved on the temple premises, guarded round the clock by the police.