Thousands of devotees are expected participate in the annual  deepotsavam of Lord Ananta Padmanabha Swamy to be held at Padmnabham village in the district on Thursday.

The 600-year-old temple attracts devotees, mostly from the three districts of Srikakulam, Vizianagaram and Visakhapatnam, during the annual Karteeka Deepotsavam.

Executive Officer Nemana Lakshminarayana Sastry said in a statement that the hereditary trustee of the temple Poosapati Ashok Gajapathi Raju and his family members would participate in the festival. Medical camps, fire services and 108 ambulance services would also be provided. APSRTC would operate special buses from various parts of the city, Simhachalam, Tagarapuvalasa and Vizianagaram to the temple. Free parking would be provided in the village for parking of vehicles. The deepams (earthen lamps) would be provided by the temple authorities for devotees, who light the lamps on the stairway to the hilltop.