Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu takes a dip in the river Godavari on the occasion of 'Maha Pushkaralu'.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu has urged pilgrims at Godavari Pushkaram to keep bathing ghats clean and take it upon them as a responsibility.
Taking cognisance of litter piled across ghats for Godavari Pushkaram, the Chief Minister said pilgrims should abstain from throwing garbage anywhere and realise that it is their duty to keep the surroundings clean.
He was addressing a gathering at the Rajahmundry stadium yesterday where replica of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams has been set up and a procession of Lord Malayappa Swamy was taken out.
"We have made arrangements to serve free food to lakhs of pilgrims to Pushkarams. However, after having food, people throw soiled plates and water sachets on roads. It has become a cumbersome task to clean it. We are doing it. Fire personnel have been engaged in cleaning ghats every hour and have employed 12,000 personnel for the task," he said.
Mr Naidu said though cleaning programmes will continue, it is the responsibility of pilgrims as well to ensure cleanliness.
The Chief Minister also cited example of his recent tour of Singapore and Japan and said there citizens make sure to keep their country clean and tidy.
"There are no safaiwallahs there. You will not find a piece of paper on roads. People keep the waste papers in their wallet and take it home to throw it in waste-bins," he said.
Mr Naidu also offered prayers to the deity of Lord Malayappa Swamy during the procession that commenced from the stadium and culminated at the Saraswathi ghat.
TTD, joint executive officer, KS Sreenivasa Raju and others were also present on the occasion.
Meanwhile, pilgrims continued to stream in for taking a holy dip in Godavari Pushkaram with their numbers crossing the three-crore mark yesterday, according to figures made available by ghat in-charges recording the data.
Naidu announced after a cultural show at the Arts College ground last night that a total of 3.11 crore people have visited both the Godavari districts for the festival till now.
This is the time for thanks-giving to the great river. The swelling numbers show people's respect for Mother Godavari, he said.
During 1979 Pushkaram, Rajahmundhry was established as an ancient city after archaeological excavations, marking its significance. Several bricks, pottery and vessels were found on the occasion and the material gave ample evidence to make it a Buddhist place of yore.
Today, holy dips in East Godavari district up to 10 am was 14,63,356 while in West Godavari district, 3,20,68,260 pilgrims took the holy dip.
Heavy crowds were seen in Puskhar and Kotilingala ghats, officials said.