A stream of devotees thronged the Kotappakonda chanting the `Hara Hara Mahadeva’ mantra en route the bottom of the hill by all possible modes of transport on Wednesday.

While the devotees made a beeline right from the early hours with special pujas beginning from 3 a.m., the district administration, Police and the Endowments department left nothing to make the pilgrimage to the hill shrine a memorable one.

The Minister for Health, Kodela Sivaprasada Rao, offered the first pooja by carrying `prabhas’ (special lamp) from Yelamanda and Purushottapatnam attracting the attention of the people.

The Superintendent of Police, Ravi Shankar Ayyannar, along with the District Collector, K. Ramakrishna Rao, camped there to streamline the arrangements and to ensure that nothing went wrong.

Among the VIPs visiting the temple included the Congress leader, Daggubati Venkateswara Rao, and the District Judge, M. Venkateswara Reddy.