Nine-day Dasara festivities concluded at the Sri Durga Malleswara Swamyvarla Devasthanam, Vijayawada with the Teppotsavam

At the Sri Durga Malleswara Swamyvarla Devasthanam here, the nine-day Dasara celebrations came to an end on Monday, Vijaya Dasami, with the goddess Kanaka Durga and her spouse Malleswara Swamy participating in the heavenly boat ride known as "Teppotsavam." The sound of "Bhavani Mata Ki Jai" resonated over the area surrounding Durga Ghat and the Prakasam barrage. The beautifully adorned and lit "Hamsa Vahanam" (swan-shaped boat) transporting the processional deities made its stately journey from Durga Ghat to Punnami Ghat as the sun began to drop on the serene waters of the Krishna.

The temple priests were reciting Vedic chants when the One Town police, following ancient custom, carried the processional gods down to the stream. The gods were transported from the hilltop to Durga Ghat in a palanquin.

With the exception of a fanatical outburst on the eighth day of the festival, everything went smoothly. Since VIP darshans were prohibited on the day of the Moola nakshatram, which falls on Thursday, the administrators could guarantee a hassle-free darshan experience for regular devotees throughout the festival, particularly on that day when pilgrim traffic peaks. On the other hand, devotees who had been waiting in queue for hours on the day of Durga Ashtami were observed getting into a furious dispute with the police officers close to the temple's sanctum sanctorum.

Top authorities supervised the flow of the queuing lines, and the police essentially took over Indrakeeladri. In spite of this, the common devotees who were waiting in queue at the Vinayaka temple encountered difficulties. Some devotees apparently had the "privilege of having a quick darshan which triggered angry outbursts from those in the queue lines" by avoiding the queue with the assistance of on-duty personnel, including police.

Last Thursday, October 19, was the first time this year that the presiding deity was dressed as Maha Chandi Devi. The priests also decided to abandon the long-standing custom of dressing the deity as Swarnakavachalankrita Devi on the opening day of the festival. During the nine days, the Kanaka Durga temple brought in about ₹3.05 crore in income. The offerings for the last day are unknown. For the occasion, the temple invested over ₹2.5 crore in engineering projects.

During the celebration, the "antaralaya darshan" was postponed. In addition to the queue lines for 100, 300, and 500 tickets, there was a free darshan queue available.