Tungabhadra Pushkaralu, the festival that celebrates the Tungabhadra river which spans across four states — Telangana, Andhra, Karnataka and Maharashtra — is set to begin on Friday. The Telangana government has prepared all the necessary arrangements for the Pushkaralu to be held in Alampur and has issued separate guidelines for the festival amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Pushkaralu, which is celebrated once in 12 years, this year begins on November 20 and will end on December 1.

According to a Deccan Chronicle report, devotees who wish to take a dip in the Tungabhadra river have to produce COVID-19 negative reports, at the ghat. Thermal screenings will be conducted at the entrance of the ghats for those visiting. Children below 10 years of age and those above 65 years are not allowed to participate in the Pushkaralu as a safety precaution for COVID-19. All the devotees have been asked to maintain physical distancing norms.

In the Telangana state, the Pushkaralu will be launched by revenue minister Allola Indrakaran Reddy, Agriculture minister Niranjan Reddy, Excise Minister Srinivas Gowda and other officials. An amount of Rs 2.5 crore was allocated for the arrangements by the state government.

According to the reports, earlier, the Telangana government was not keen on conducting the Pushkaralu owing to the pandemic, however, due to pressure from the religious institutions and the public, the government has given a green signal for the event and has made arrangements.

Meanwhile, in the neighbouring state Andhra Pradesh as well, the preparations are in full swing. Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy will inaugurate Pushkaralu in Kurnool city. However, in Andhra, the devotees are not allowed to take a dip directly in the ghats and special arrangements are made for devotees to take bath in the river. A total of 23 ghats have been arranged in Kurnool district and police personnel have been deployed to control the crowd, according to a New Indian Express report.