One of the most vibrant and grand events held every year in India, Medaram Jathara (fair) is nothing short of a miracle to witness. This year, the Medaram Sammakka Saralamma Jatara will start from the 16th of this month. It is attended by a large number of devotees from different parts of the state as well as from other states. Devotees crowd into the town way before the fair starts. To discuss the COVID precautions while celebrating the fair, CS Somesh Kumar and DGP Mahender Reddy held an exclusive teleconference with senior officials of the concerned departments
The meeting was attended by officials from Revenue, Medical, Revenue, Panchayati Raj, RTC, Electricity, R&B, and Police departments. CS Somesh Kumar said that Medaram Jatara is the largest tribal festival in the country. It is estimated that more than a crore of devotees will attend the celebrations this year. Devotees are advised to take preventive measures to avoid any trouble. The government also announced that water will be released into the Jampanna stream to help the visitors take baths.
Meanwhile, RTC declared that over 3,850 buses will be running for the devotees. The capacity of all the buses put together including all the trips would be more than 21 lakh passengers. To avoid any medical complications, the government set up an additional hospital along with the one main hospital in Medaram. A total of 35 medical camps have been set up. CS Somesh Kumar said 6,700 toilets have been set up at 327 places in the Medaram area.
Talking about the security measures, DGP Mahender Reddy said that 9,000 police personnel are being deployed for the Medaram fair. He said special camps have been set up for missing children at the fair. The DGP said a special command and control room has been set up for security surveillance. Whoever misses their child or parents are suggested to report at the special camps set up by the authorities.