Queue lines and coconut breaking stands arranged at Tholi Pavancha, as part of arrangements for Giri Pradakshina in Visakhapatnam.
| Photo Credit: K.R. DEEPAK
Elaborate arrangements have been made by the district administration for the annual ‘Giri Pradakshina’ of Sri Varaha Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy of Simhachalam, which will be held on Tuesday.The Giri Pradakshina will commence from Tholi Pavancha in the early hours of Tuesday. Although devotees begin the trek from morning, officials said the footfall generally increases significantly after the ratham (ceremonial chariot) of the presiding deity sets out in the afternoon. Similar to last year, a sharp rise in the number of devotees is anticipated after the chariot procession begins. While around 3.5 lakh devotees participated in the event last year, the administration expects the turnout to cross five lakh this year.To manage the massive gathering, nearly 5,000 government volunteers have been deployed for duties on Tuesday and Wednesday. The deployment includes about 2,700 police personnel, who will oversee security, crowd management and traffic regulation along the entire route. Personnel from various departments, including Revenue, Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation (GVMC), Health and Fire Services, have also been assigned responsibilities.The GVMC has deployed 3,033 sanitation workers, who began work on Monday. They will work in seven shifts until the evening of Tuesday to ensure continuous cleaning of the route, prompt garbage clearance and maintenance of hygiene throughout the event.Extensive traffic restrictions will come into force from Tuesday afternoon to facilitate the movement of devotees. In addition to the Simhachalam-Hanumanthawaka stretch, vehicular movement will also be prohibited on the Visakha Valley Junction-Maddilapalem stretch of National Highway-16 and the Kurupam Junction-Jodugullapalem junction route during specified hours. The restrictions are aimed at ensuring the safe passage of the large number of pilgrims expected to take part in the circumambulation.A total of 28 help centres, jointly managed by the Police and Revenue departments, have been established along the Giri Pradakshina route to assist devotees with information, emergency response and other essential services. A Command & Control Centre (CCC) has been set up at Tholi Pavancha to monitor the annual ritual and it will be led by senior police officials.The GVMC has also made extensive arrangements for drinking water. Around 17,000 water cans of 20-litre capacity each have been positioned at 114 drinking water points across the route to ensure an uninterrupted supply of potable water for pilgrims. 727 toilets including157 permanent toilets were set up.As an additional safety measure this year, swimmers have been deployed at the Appughar and Jodugullapalem beaches, where devotees take holy dip. The civic body has also installed around 50 shower units separately for men and women.Apart from drinking water and sanitation, the administration has ensured the availability of street lighting, medical camps, ambulances, CCTV surveillance and public announcement systems at strategic locations. Published - July 27, 2026 09:42 pm IST
