It's official, Ramateertham temple to host Navami festivites

RAMATHEERTHAM (VIZIANAGARAM): The Andhra Pradesh government has finally taken a decision on officially celebrating the Srirama Navami festival at the Ramateertham temple here on Saturday.
State endowments minister P Manikyala Rao will represent the government at the celebrations and offer new clothes and pearl talambrams to the lord. The representative of the royal trustee of the temple, Ananda Gajapati Raju, district minister Kimidi Mrunalini and Visakhapatnam MP K Hari Babu, besides various dignitaries such as Sarada Peetham seer Swamy Swaroopanandendra would also be attending the Seetarama Kalyanam.
The state government had earlier decided to officially celebrate the Srirama Navami festivities at the Vontimitta temple in Kadapa. Though as per the Abhijit lagna, the Seetarama Kalyanam should be performed in the day time, the Vontimitta temple has been traditionally performing it on the night after Navami.
On Friday, the 500-year-old Ramateertham temple wore a festive look with the authorities putting up lights and making arrangements to accommodate thousands of devotees in a four-acre plot behind the temple. Ramateertham temple executive officer, Babu Rao, told TOI that they have made arrangements for the Anna Santarpana for 10,000 devotees and are expecting more than 50,000 devotees on the Navami day poojas. Arrangements have been made for a separate gallery for the Vizianagaram royal family to witness the Kalyanam. More than 300 cops have been deployed for security.
The endowments department regional joint director too landed in the district on Friday to monitor the arrangements. District endowments commissioner R Pushpanadham told TOI that the prayers for Lord Srirama would begin in the wee hours of Saturday with Aradhana and would continue with Mangalasasanam, Mahapurnaahuti.
The idol of Lord Srirama would be placed at the Kalyana vedika before 6 am as the time after that is inauspicious, priests at the Ramateertham temple said, adding that the Kalyanam would begin at 10.30 am while the wedding muhurat was 12.00 noon. Lord Srirama would tie the Mangalasutra to goddess Sita at 12.20 noon.
Karri Venkata Ramanacharyulu, who has been overseeing the functioning of the temple, said it was a great privilege for the temple to be hosting the official state Srirama Navami celebrations.
The Uttarandhra Sadhu Parishad had earlier warned chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu against entering the temple in light of the birth of his grandson and also against conducting the official festivities at Vontimitta temple. The parishad president Swamy Srinivasananda had also started an indefinite hunger strike at the Ramateertham temple, but suspended it after the endowments minister assured him that the government would conduct the festivities at the north Andhra temple with officials honors.