1.5 lakh devotees throng Balaji temple for 'Ratha sapthami'

About one-and-half lakh devotees from across the country today took part in the annual 'ratha sapthami' festival at the famous hill shrine of Lord Venkateswara on the occasion of 'Surya Jayanthi'.
The richly-decorated centuries old 'utsav' idol of Lord Venkateswara, mounted on seven different sacred golden 'vahanas' (carriers), was taken out in a procession around the temple from dawn to night at different intervals.
The event started with the idol being carried on the "Surya" vahana followed by 'Chinna Sesha', 'Garuda', 'Hanuman', 'Kalpavriksha', 'Sarvabhupala' and 'Chandra' vahanas.
'Rathasapthami' festival is observed as one of the most important sacred events at the 2000-year old shrine on the occasion of Jayanthi of Lord Surya (Sun), a temple official said.

Meanwhile, three cameramen attached to a leading Telugu film production company weredetained for a few hours by the police for allegedly capturing one of the processions of Rathasapthami on their digital cinema cameras and let off after a thorough verification, a police official said.