Hyderabad: Temples in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh saw a huge rush of devotees on the first day of the New Year as thousands queued up to seek divine blessings.
Temples in Hyderabad and other parts of Telangana and in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh witnessed the rush since early hours of the day.
Praying for happiness and prosperity during 2025, men and women made a beeline to the temples.
A large number of devotees thronged the famous Birla Temple in the heart of Hyderabad and Chilkur Balaji Temple on the city outskirts.
There was a big rush of people at Peddamma Temple and Venkateswara Swamy Temple in Srinagar Colony here.
People also offered special prayers at the popular hill shrine at Yadadri, ancient Bhadrakali temple in Warangal and Vemulawada temple on the first day of the New Year. Priests at Bhadrakali temple conducted special rituals and blessed the devotees.
Authorities made elaborate arrangements at temples in view of the rush of devotees.
Thousands queued up at the famous Sri Venkateswara temple at Tirumala in Andhra Pradesh on New Year.
The Kanaka Durga temple (Vijayawada) and Lord Mallikarjuna Swamy temple (Srisailam) also witnessed a huge rush.
Men, women and children lined up since early morning at temples in Chittoor, Kurnool, Visakhapatnam, Vijayanagaram and other places.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu also visited the Kanaka Durga temple in Vijayawada and offered prayers on the New Year.
Meanwhile, some prominent personalities offered prayers at Tirumala temple on Wednesday.
Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and Union Minister for Culture and Tourism Gajendra Singh Shekhawat had darshan at the famous hill shrine.
Telangana Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka also offered prayers at the Tirumala temple.
Nellore MP Vemireddy Prabhakar Reddy and his wife Prashanti Reddy were also among the key personalities to visit the Tirumala temple on Wednesday.
(IANS)
