Rajahmundry :
The 1.2-km Kotilingala Ghat — one of the 23 ghats being developed for the pilgrims to take a holy dip in river Godavari during the forthcoming Godavari Pushkarams — is set to emerge as the country’s largest riverine bathing ghat, according to sources in the endowments department.
Giving an idea of the enormity of the Kotilingala Ghat, they told Express here on Saturday that one lakh pilgrims could take a holy dip there at a time.
They further said that the district administration had divided the 23 bathing ghats – 15 of which are in the urban area and 8 in the rural area – into ‘A’ and ‘B’ Grade ghats for the convenience of the pilgrims.
In the urban area (Rajahmundry city), 12 ghats would be notified as ‘A’ grade ghats and the remaining three as B grade ghats, he said. The ‘A’ Grade ghats were Gayatri Ghat, Gowthami Ghat, New VIP Ghat (Saraswati Ghat), Padmavati Ghat, Sraddananda Ghat, Markandeya Ghat, TTD Ghat, Pushakar Ghat, Sankara Ghat, Lakshmi Ganapathi Ghat, PMK Ghat and Kotilingala Ghat. The ‘B’ Grade ghats would be Subbayamma Temple Ghat, Dobhi Ghat and Kanaka Durga Ghat, they said.
According to the sources, in the rural area, there will be one ‘A’ Grade ghat – Ramapadala Ghat at Dowleswaram — and seven ‘B’ Grade ghats — Boat Office Ghat, Padmavathi Ghat, Kancharladine Ghat, Gayatri Ghat, CERP Ghat, Chintalamma Ghat and Sunnamnbatti Ghat. The sources said that common pilgrims would be permitted to have a holy dip in the river at the VIP Ghat whenever VIP pilgrims were not present there.
Meanwhile, as per the directions of chief minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu, the endowments department was constructing platforms at various ghats to enable the pilgrims to perform Pinda Pradanam and Tirdha Vidhulu, the sources said and added that at some places, sheds were also being constructed.
They said that construction of all the ghats, including the VIP Ghat at Gopada Kshetram, near Kovvur, in West Godavari district, would be completed by June 30 as per the directions of the chief minister. They added that Naidu would again review the progress of all the Pushkaram-related works on July 1.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Andhra Pradesh / by S S Chary / June 28th, 2015