Rottela Pandugaa, a festival of unity draws huge numbers

Business & Economy

Posted by AI on 2025-07-31 00:58:41 | Last Updated by AI on 2025-12-13 03:49:14

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Tirupati: The Roti festival, known locally as Rottela Pandugaa, got off to a spectacular start with crowds congregating to take part in the inaugural proceedings of this unique festival.

Lakhs of devotees tired of the mundane and commercialized rituals of popular Hindu temples have turned towards this event, which is held at the Bara Shaheed Dargah in Nellore.

The most important part of the festival, the Gandha Mahotsavam' (sandal paste utsavam) takes place on Monday night and is highly venerated by the masses.

Devotees queue up to the Dargah in large numbers and offer special prayers, followed by the tradition of exchanging rotis at Swarnala Cheruvu.

This is believed to help them fulfill their desires and is supposed to absolve them of their sins.

The festival concluded on Thursday after 4 days of celebrations.

Nellore district administration expects nearly 25 lakh devotees to take part in the Rottela Panduga this year.

They have made elaborate arrangements for the smooth conduct of this annual festival over the next 5 days.

Nearly 6,000 sanitation workers have been deployed to ensure clean premises.

1,700 police personnel are on guard to ensure the festival goes on without any incidents.

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