Spiritual piety marks the beginning of Bonalu
'Bonalu marks the beginning of Aashadam. It marks a change of season and this offering is to ensure that the Goddess takes care of us in terms of health. Today, what we are doing in metlu puja (worship the steps),' said one of the devotees marking the steps with turmeric and vermilion. Outside the main fort complex, police officials barricaded the normal routes. Most of the devotees had to walk distances ranging from 2 to 3 km to reach the entrance of the fort.
'I had to park my vehicle outside the Banjari Darwaza. It is nearly a two kilometre walk and then there are these 350 steps,' said Ramesh, who came with his friends from Chintal Basti near Khairatabad to pray to the Goddess. Hundreds of policemen lined the route managing traffic even as politicians turned up with convoy of SUVs in the narrow streets of Jinsi Bazaar, Moti Darwaza, Rethi Gali, and Bada Bazaar road. 'I have been here from 8 a.m. I will have to be there till it gets over at 8 p.m.,' said a police official managing the crowd near Jagdambika Temple as the devotees scrambled and searched for their footwear.
There are nine puja days for Bonalu spread over the month on Thursdays and Sundays, with the first being at the Golconda Fort.
'This kind of rush is a modern phenomenon. Till 1986, we used to get only 10 to 15 families offering bonams (pots of offering) to the Goddess. The entry ticket was 50 paise then. It changed in 2016 when the number of devotees surged into lakhs. Another big jump happened in 2021,' said O. Durgappa, who worked as monument attender of the Golconda Fort retiring in 2020.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News18
5 days ago
- News18
UP: Jeweller robbed at gunpoint, items worth Rs 15 lakh stolen
Pratapgarh (UP), Jul 29 (PTI) Two motorcycle-borne armed men allegedly robbed a jeweller of gold and silver items worth Rs 15 lakh in Uttar Pradesh's Pratapgarh, police said on Tuesday. The incident occurred on Monday night in Avsanganj market, about 60 km from the district headquarters. Ramesh, originally from Bihar and now residing in Avsaganj, was walking home after shutting his jewellery shop, just 100 metres away from his residence, with a bag full of ornaments when two motorcycle-borne assailants allegedly intercepted him, Additional Superintendent of Police Sanjay Rai said. Brandishing a country-made pistol, they allegedly snatched the bag from him. When he resisted, they assaulted him and fled the scene, the officer said. view comments First Published: July 29, 2025, 17:30 IST Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
&w=3840&q=100)
Business Standard
5 days ago
- Business Standard
Barabanki stampede: 2 dead, 47 injured; UP govt announces ₹5 lakh ex-gratia
Two people were killed and 47 injured as a stampede broke out at a temple here early on Monday after a live electric wire, broken by monkeys, fell onto a tin shed, leading to panic among devotees. DGP Rajeev Krishna said that the casualties were caused by electrocution. The incident occurred at the Avsaneshwar temple in the Haidergarh area during the holy month of Shravan on Monday. Barabanki District Magistrate Shashank Tripathi said that during the 'jalabhishek' ritual, monkeys had damaged an electric wire, which caused current to flow through three tin sheds in the temple complex. The resulting panic led to a stampede in which two people lost their lives and more than two dozen were injured, he added. Prashant Kumar (17) from the Mubarakpura village under the Lonikatra police station area, and another devotee, Ramesh Kumar (28), succumbed to their injuries while undergoing treatment at the Trivediganj Community Health Centre (CHC), officials said. An official of the UP government said that financial assistance of Rs 5 lakh has been announced for the family of the deceased. Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Awadhesh Yadav said that after the accident, policemen brought 29 people to Haidergarh CHC in an ambulance. Nine people were sent to Trivediganj CHC, and six were sent to Kothi CHC. Five people were seriously injured and are being treated at the district hospital. Of the nine admitted at the Trivediganj CHC, two have died. Recalling the incident, Ramesh's mother, Champa Devi, said that her son gone to the Avasaneshwar Mahadev temple at around 8 pm, on foot, with his group of friends Ramu Rawat, Harshit, Ankit, Ashish, Rahul and Ajay. He was standing in the queue for Jalabhishek after bathing in the Gomti river with his friends, and he got electrocuted. Ramesh's wife Lalita is eight months pregnant. They also have a one-year-old son, Anshu. A sweet shop owner in the temple, Ram Lochan Mishra, said, "News circulated widely that Minister Satish Sharma will do Pushpa Varsha here from a helicopter. This led to a huge crowd. Three to three and a half lakh devotees reached the spot." "At night, a monkey jumped, which possibly broke the wire and caused the accident. At the time of the accident, all the policemen were at the main gate," Mishra said. He added, "There was a long line of people, about 300 metres, from the ghat to the temple. About three thousand people were in the line when the accident happened. We somehow managed to save our lives and ran away." No comments in this regard could be obtained from Satish Sharma as he was unreachable. Another injured in the stampede, Arjun Kumar, said, "We were going to offer water when we heard a sound from a pipe near the third number breaker, and after that, an electric current came. Many people fainted in no time. I also fainted. When I regained consciousness, I found myself in the hospital." A mother of an injured girl pleaded with the CMO for her daughter's treatment. "My daughter is lying in the hospital, and we just want her to get good treatment. We don't want anything else," she said. This comes a day after eight people were killed in a stampede that broke out during a rush of pilgrims along a stair route leading to the Mansa Devi temple on a hilltop in Haridwar. Rumours of an electric current where the stairs begin triggered panic among people, leading to the stampede, according to the police. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath expressed "deep sorrow" over the loss of lives and extended his condolences to the bereaved families. "He has directed the district administration officials to expedite the proper treatment of the injured and relief operations," Adityanath's office posted on X in Hindi. "He has prayed to Lord Mahadev, the supreme deity, to grant salvation to the departed souls and a speedy recovery to the injured," it added. On the sidelines of the event, DGP Rajeev Krishna told reporters that senior officials, including the zonal and range-level officers, visited the spot. "Almost all of the injured have been discharged from the hospital after treatment. Some are under observation," he said. The situation is under control, and devotees continue to offer prayers at the temple, he added. Meanwhile, opposition parties demanded compensation for the victims. Samajwadi Party's Media Cell posted on X, "The government should give a compensation of Rs 1 crore each to the families of the deceased devotees, ensure proper treatment and compensation for those injured and disclose the correct number of deaths." The UP Congress described the incident as "extremely tragic". "The news of the death of two devotees due to an electric shock and several others being injured is distressing. We express our deep condolences to the grieving families and pray for the speedy recovery of the injured," it posted on X. "This incident points to serious deficiencies in the arrangements. Robust security and crowd management measures are extremely necessary at religious sites. We demand that the government provide appropriate compensation and all possible assistance to the affected families," the Congress state unit said. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Time of India
5 days ago
- Time of India
‘Sudden spark, shrieks before we could react'
Lucknow: A wave of grief swept through Barabanki's Ausaneshwar Mahadev Temple in the early hours of Monday as two pilgrims — Ramesh Kumar (28) and Prashant Kumar (17) — lost their lives to electrocution during the 'Jal Abhishek' ritual on the third Monday of Shrawan. The tragedy unfolded around 2.30 am when an iron rod and tin shed — part of a makeshift structure installed to manage the crowds — reportedly became live due to a short circuit. Thousands of barefoot devotees stood in queue, unaware that the very structure meant to protect them was about to claim lives. "There was a sudden spark, then shrieks. We watched helplessly as Ramesh and Prashant collapsed. By the time anyone could react, they were gone," said Vivek, a friend who accompanied them. Ramesh, 28, a humble farmer from Nakta Saheliya village, travelled with a group of 10–15 villagers, including his pregnant wife Lalita Devi. He was also father to a 14-month-old boy. "He stayed behind to help someone. The rest of us passed through. We turned around when we heard a thud. He lay motionless," recounted Ramu, his eyes brimming with tears. Lalita, now a widow, and eight month pregnant clutched her 14-month-old baby as she sat numb outside the mortuary. "He went to seek blessings for our child and never came back. How can a temple — a place of God — take him away?" she sobbed. Ramesh was the sole breadwinner of the family. The second victim, Prashant Kumar, barely 17, went with his father and a few elders from his village. "He was the light of our home," said Ram Kripal, his father, breaking down. "God should have taken me, not my son. He had his whole life ahead." Eyewitnesses allege gross negligence in the temple's temporary setup. "There was stagnant water, exposed wires, and metal supports. Everyone was barefoot. It was an accident waiting to happen," said Ankit Dev, a local.
