HYDERABAD:Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao and Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan extended 'Bathukamma' festival greetings to the people of the state.
Rao urged people to celebrate Bathukamma, a symbol of Telangana pride and culture with devotion, following the Coronavirus guidelines.
The Chief Minister prayed to Goddess Gauri to bless the agricultural sector with high yields, peace and prosperity in every household.
Telangana Governor Soundararajan also conveyed Bathukamma wishes.
"I extend my heartiest wishes and warm greetings to all the women of Telangana on the auspicious commencement occasion of Bathukamma festival, " said Soundararajan.
She said the colourful wildflowers used to prepare the idols of Bathukamma have medicinal properties to cleanse water bodies filled to the brim with copious rains during this season.
"Bathukamma marks the reunion of families and visit of daughters of the soil to celebrate the nine-day long festival. Bathukamma is a real tribute to the native Telangana culture and traditions and offers prayers to Goddess Gauri (Parvati) in the form Bathukamma, " she said.
Kavita, new MLC and Chief Minister KCR's daughter said the state government started celebrating the event as a state festival from the time Telangana was formed in 2014.
She lamented that Telangana Jagruti, an organization she heads, could not celebrate Bathukamma across the state because of the pandemic.
However, to cheer up the masses, she shared two special video songs composed to commemorate 'Bathukamma'.
In Bathukamma, a folk festival, women sing and dance around the Bathukamma, a pyramidal arrangement of colourful flowers.
The state government has already distributed one crore sarees to women for Bathukamma.