The third day of Sammakka-Saralamma jatara saw a steady increase in the number of devotees arriving at Medaram to take part in the festivities.
As Friday is considered auspicious, the devotees prefer arriving here to pay their obeisance to the tribal deities. It’s only on the third day that both the deities adorn the altar as on the fourth day, the priests take them back to the forest. As they have only a day to offer prayers to both the goddesses at the altar, they stood in long queues for hours on Friday.
“There is heavy rush of devotees. However, we could perform the important rituals despite some inconveniences,” said District Collector R.V. Karnan.
A major inconvenience for devotees was caused by vehicles of VIPs that were allowed upto ITDA guesthouse. This also led to jostling for some time near the entrance. Despite this, lakhs of devotees were seen camping at Orattam, Kothur, Narlapur, Reddygudem, Kalavapalli and others surrounding Medaram.
Today being the fourth day of the Jatara it is the day of the Sammakka and SArakka to return back to the forest “Vanapravesham”. It marks the conclusion of the 4- day Medaram Jatara. It is the official homeage for the goddess to return to the forest, they are sent back with the same reverend as they were welcomed. The next visit of the Sammakka and Sarakka is in 2020.
