Locals presenting saris to Krishna river as part of traditional ‘saare’ offering, at Nagayalanka on Monday.
| Photo Credit: G.N. RAO
More than 500 people gathered on the banks of Krishna river at Nagayalanka to witness a first-of-its-kind event on Monday evening.
To express gratitude to Krishna, which is the source of livelihood to thousands of fisherfolk families in Nagayalanka mandal, people offered ‘saare’ (a presentation given to a woman in a family), comprising 504 saris. All the saris were bought exclusively by women.
Around 400 women volunteers carried the saris from Gandhi Bomma Centre in town to the riverbank. From there, the saris were carried on boats to Bobbarlanka as as a symbolic presentation to the river, which is considered as a goddess. Bobbarlanka is town that lies across the river and is part of Bapatla district.
T. Raghu Sekhar, an event organiser and aqua farmer in Nagayalanka, said the programme also aimed at raising awareness among the public about the ill effects of disposing plastic in the river and sea.
Nagayalanka mandal lies at the tail end of Krishna river, before it merges with the Bay of Bengal. The mandal is home to rich aquatic life.
“When one discards a plastic carry bag into the sea, a turtle mistakes it for jelly fish, consumes it and dies. This leads to an increase in the population of jellyfish that preys on small fish. This, in turn, will affect a fisherman’s catch,” Mr. Sekhar explained. He said more such programmes have been planned to educate the public about the collective responsibility of protecting the river. The sarees presented to the river would later be distributed among poor people, he added.
Avanigadda MLA Mandali Buddha Prasad was the chief guest at the event.
Published – November 24, 2025 08:02 pm IST
