The Bathukamma festival this year is scheduled to be celebrated in Telangana from September 25 to October 3. The festivities will be held on October 3, which will be celebrated as 'Saddula Bathukamma'.
Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar has ordered the officials to provide arrangements for Bathukamma. He claimed that because so many people would be attending the festival, additional preparations needed to be undertaken.
The authorities have been instructed to illuminate important traffic islands and buildings during the festival. They have been tasked with improving the roads, blocking off immersion places, ensuring a steady electricity supply, and planning cultural events.
Swimmers will be deployed near Hussain Sagar and at all the immersion points as a precautionary measure.
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The Chief Secretary has also asked the officials to decorate pillars of Hyderabad Metro and trains depicting the festival. Saddula Bathukamma should also be organised in all the district headquarters, said Somesh Kumar.
He ordered the officials to make sure that logistics were provided for the Saddula Bathukamma celebrations in Hyderabad, including the setting up of small cranes for the immersion of Bathukamma, lighting along the Hussain Sagar banks, police security, traffic control and regulation, temporary restrooms, the deployment of fire extinguishers, etc.
Bathukamma is a colourful, floral festival celebrated by the women folk in Telangana. The state government's official festival is considered the symbol of Telangana's culture.
During the nine-day annual festival, women and girls sing and dance around specially arranged flowers. At the end of the festival, they immerse the specially arranged flowers called Bathukamma in local ponds.
(With ABP Desam, IANS inputs)
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