Telangana Guv, leaders offer prayers at Medaram ‘Maha Jatara’

Telangana Governor Jishnu Dev Varma and several dignitaries on Friday offered prayers at the ongoing Maha Jatara of tribal goddesses Sammakka and Saralamma here, as lakhs of devotees thronged the temple on the third day of the festival.

Telangana Governor Jishnu Dev Varma and several dignitaries on Friday offered prayers at the ongoing 'Maha Jatara' of tribal goddesses Sammakka and Saralamma here, as lakhs of devotees thronged the temple on the third day of the festival. Besides Varma, former Haryana Governor Bandaru Dattatreya, state Endowments Minister Konda Surekha, British Deputy High Commissioner to Telangana and Andhra Pradesh Gareth Wynn Owen, and DGP B Shivadhar Reddy participated in the rituals. Following tradition, the leaders offered jaggery equal to their weight to the deities. ''Fantastic to be at the Sri Sammakka-Sarlamma Jatara at Medaram and participate in the Tulabharam. Not every day are you weighed in jaggery,'' Gareth Wynn Owen posted on 'X'. State Panchayat Raj Minister D Anasuya Seethakka briefed the British diplomat on recent developments at the altars of the goddesses, a press release said. An estimated 80 lakh devotees visited the 'Maha Jatara' on Wednesday and Thursday, state Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy said. Thousands also took a holy dip in the Jampanna Vagu rivulet. The biennial festival, being held from January 28 to 31, has seen extensive preparations by the state government. Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy inaugurated the renovated shrine of Sammakka and Saralamma on January 19. The government reconstructed the altars of the tribal deities Sammakka, Saralamma, Govindaraju, and Pagididda Raju at a cost of about Rs 101 crore. Additional development works worth Rs 150 crore have been undertaken to improve facilities for devotees attending the 2026 festival. About 21 government departments and 42,000 personnel are involved in managing the event, including crowd control, security, cleanliness, medical services, and other arrangements. Medical camps, ambulances, and bike ambulances have been deployed to handle emergencies. The 'Maha Jatara' is celebrated in Medaram, located in the remote Eturnagaram Wildlife Sanctuary, part of the Dandakaranya forest belt. The festival commemorates the revolt led by the mother-daughter duo, Sammakka and Saralamma, against the imposition of taxes on the tribal populace during a drought by the Kakatiya rulers in the 12th century.

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