Hyderabad, Jan 27 : The stage is set for the Sammakka Sarakka Jatara, billed as the largest tribal fair in Asia, beginning at Medaram in Telanganaâ??s Mulugu district on Wednesday.

Over two crore devotees from various parts of the country are likely to attend the four-day biennial event in Medaram village, about 240 km from Hyderabad.

Authorities have made massive arrangements for the event, often described as Telanganaâ??s Kumbh Mela. Tribals and non-tribals from various parts of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and other states will converge for the fair, which marks the celebration of tribal traditions.

This year, the state government has spent Rs 251 crore for the development of Medaram and creating permanent infrastructure for Jatara, also known as Sammakka Saralamma Jatara or Medaram Jatara.

About 10 lakh devotees have already offered prayers to the presiding tribal deities during the last few days.

Adivasis living in forest fringe habitations in several states along the river Godavari congregate once in two years to celebrate the valour of legendary warriors Sammakka and Sarakka.

The tribals treat them as goddesses and hail their bravery in trying to protect them. Belonging to the Koya tribe, the mother-daughter duo died while fighting against the Kakatiya empire about eight centuries ago.

The legend is that Sammakka and her daughter Sarakka (Saralamma) fought against the levy of taxes on tribals during drought conditions by the then Kakatiya rulers in the 12th century.

Tribal king Medaraju was ruling the tribal habitations on the banks of the river Godavari and was supposed to pay a royalty to the Kakatiya king. However, due to severe, prolonged drought, Medaraju failed to pay a royalty. Treating it as defiance, the Kakatiya king invaded the region. Fighting with the Kakatiya army, Medaraju and all kin died. His daughter Sammakka and her daughter Sarakka too died in the fight.

According to local lore, Sammakka, who was fatigued, went to the Chilukalagutta hillocks and disappeared. The Adivasis who reportedly went in search of her only found a casket of vermilion under a bamboo tree.

Once every two years, the tribal priests offer prayers at the bamboo grove and bring a casket of vermilion and a bamboo stick wrapped in red cloth symbolising Sammakka, whom they consider their deity.

A day before, the priest performs a similar ritual at Kannepalli village, four kilometres from Medaram and brings the deity Sarakka. Both are installed under the Indian Elm tree at Medaram village and thus begin the Jatara. After three days, they take back the deities and leave them in the forest until the next Jatara.

The tribals offer jaggery of their weight, considering it to be gold. They also offer red blouse pieces, vermilion, and turmeric to the deities in large quantities. They take a little part of the same as prasadam from the altar back to their homes.

Devotees also take a holy dip in Jampanna Vagu, a tributary of the Godavari River. Jampanna was the tribal warrior and the son of tribal Sammakka. Upon hearing the news of defeat and the death of his family members in the war with the Kakatiyan Army, he committed suicide by jumping into the Sampenga Vagu (stream). Since then, the Sampenga stream has been known as Jampanna Vagu. The tribals believe that a dip in the stream washes off their sins.

The state government has made elaborate arrangements for the Jatara. Over 42,000 officers and employees from 21 departments have been deployed to provide all amenities to the devotees.

About 2,000 Advasi volunteers will also assist the devotees.

Massive security arrangements have been made for the tribal fair. As many as 13,000 police personnel have been deployed for the smooth conduct of the biennial event.

The police will be using an Artificial Intelligence (AI) based drone policing system for effective monitoring of the congregation. Control rooms have been set up at various places to manage the crowd.

The entire Medaram area has been divided into eight zones and 42 sectors to control the crowd. For every zone, a district-level official will be in charge, while a mandal-level official will be incharge for every sector.

Police have arranged parking at 42 places spread over 1,418 acres.

Over 200 expert swimmers will be deployed at Jampanna Vagu to prevent any untoward incident.

The Medical and Health Department has set up 30 health camps and deployed 5,192 medical staff.

Authorities have deployed 5,000 sanitation workers and arranged 5,700 makeshift toilets.

The Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TGSRTC) has already announced that it will operate over 4,000 buses for Medaram.

The South Central Railway (SCR) will be operating 28 special train services to meet the pilgrim rush between January 28 and 31.

Special trains are being operated from different places like Secunderabad, Nizamabad, Adilabad, Kazipet, and Khammam to the Warangal station, which is the nearest railway station to reach Medaram.

The Tourism Department has introduced helicopter services for pilgrims from Hanamkonda to Medaram. The helicopter service is operated by Thumby Aviation.

Passengers can avail VIP darshan, including a round trip, at a cost of Rs 35,999 per person. Additionally, an aerial ride over the fair is priced at Rs 4,800 per individual.

/IANS