HYDERABAD: Preparations are well on for the Bathukamma festival, which is scheduled to be celebrated throughout Telangana from September 25 to October 3 in grand style.

The mail celebration will take place on October 3, which is Saddula Bathukamma Day. Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar has directed the officials to make elaborate arrangements for the festival. He said that massive number of people will be participating in the festival, elaborate arrangements should be made in a befitting manner.

Bathukamma is a floral festival celebrated by the women folk in Telangana. It Telengana's official festival and considered the symbol of the state's culture.

Women and girls chant and dance around beautifully arranged flowers during the nine-day yearly celebration. They submerge the specially arranged flowers, known as Bathukamma, in nearby ponds at the conclusion of the celebration. The state festival of Telangana has been Bathukamma ever since the state's creation in 2014.

The authorities have been instructed to light up significant structures and traffic islands during the festival. They have been tasked with making improvements to the roads, blocking off immersion places, ensuring a steady supply of electricity, and planning cultural events. Swimmers will be deployed near Hussain Sagar and at all the immersion points as a precautionary measure.

The Chief Secretary has also requested that the staff decorate the trains and metro poles in Hyderabad with artwork that celebrates the Bathukamma festival. He said that the festival should receive extensive social media coverage.

The Chief Secretary asked the officials to make sure that logistics were provided for the Sasddula Bathukamma celebrations in Hyderabad, including the setting up of small cranes for the immersion of Bathukammas, lighting along the Hussain Sagar banks, police security, traffic control and regulation, temporary restrooms, the distribution of butter milk sachets, the setting up of first aid facilities, the deployment of fire extinguishers, etc.  Saddula Bathukamma should also be organised in all the district headquarters, he said.

The leader of the cultural group Telangana Jagruthi, Telangana Legislative Council member Kalvakuntla Kavitha, has been actively participating in Bathukamma celebrations.

Kavitha, a former member of parliament and the daughter of Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, organised a special performance of Bathukamma at Dubai's Burj Khalifa last year.

The Bathukamma documentary was screened on a large screen thanks to Telangana Jagruthi's efforts. The group released the Bathukamma song "Allipoola Vennela" last year, which was written by AR Rahman, a musical maestro, and was directed by Gautham Vasudev Menon.

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