Bonalu Festival To Begin In Hyderabad On July 16, Govt Steps Up Arrangements

Hyderabad: The annual Bonalu festival in Hyderabad will begin on July 16 and continue until August 13, with the Telangana government launching extensive arrangements for the month long celebrations across the city and surrounding districts.

The festival will open at the Sri Jagadamba Mahankali Temple at Golconda Fort, marking the start of the Ashada Bonalu festivities, one of Telangana’s most important religious and cultural celebrations. Officials said preparations are being made on a large scale to manage crowds, transport, sanitation, security and temple infrastructure during the festival period.

Endowments Minister Konda Surekha, who is currently in London, reviewed the arrangements through a Zoom meeting with officials from various departments. Ministers Ponnam Prabhakar and Mohammed Azharuddin, along with MLAs and senior officials, also took part in the review.

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Bonalu festival in Hyderabad to continue till August 13

During the meeting, Konda Surekha directed all departments to work in coordination to ensure proper facilities for devotees visiting temples in Hyderabad, Secunderabad, Ranga Reddy and Medchal Malkajgiri districts. She said Bonalu reflects the spirit, culture and traditions of Telangana and should be organised without any inconvenience to devotees.

The minister said this year’s Ashada Bonalu celebrations would be held across the Greater Hyderabad, Cyberabad and Malkajgiri corporation areas. She asked officials to focus on drinking water, sanitation, medical camps, decorative lighting, flower decorations, queue management, CCTV coverage and traffic regulation at key temple locations.

Surekha also instructed the Transport Department to arrange additional buses, as large numbers of devotees from across Telangana are expected to visit Hyderabad during the festival. She said special traffic plans, extra medical teams and strong security measures must be put in place at temples that witness heavy footfall.

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The minister thanked Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy for allocating Rs 20 crore for this year’s Bonalu celebrations. She said the funds should be used effectively to improve temple infrastructure and provide essential facilities for devotees during the festival.

Bonalu in Hyderabad is usually celebrated in three phases. The festivities begin with Golconda Bonalu, followed by Lashkar Bonalu at the Ujjaini Mahankali Temple in Secunderabad. The celebrations conclude with Bonalu at Sri Simhavahini Mahankali Temple in Lal Darwaza and Sri Akkanna Madanna Mahankali Temple in Haribowli in the Old City.

Bonalu is a traditional festival dedicated to Goddess Mahakali. Women devotees offer food in decorated pots as a mark of devotion and thanksgiving. The festival is believed to have originated more than 150 years ago after a cholera outbreak, when people began offering Bonalu to seek the goddess’s protection.