Visakhapatnam: Carrying sachets of milk, homemade sweetmeats, fresh flowers, incense sticks, camphor, etc, scores of people visited snake pits and temples to offer prayers to Serpent Gods on October 25 (Saturday). Celebrated primarily in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, 'Nagula Chavithi' that falls on the fourth day following Diwali Amavasya, holds religious significance as people believe that worshipping Serpent Gods help in improving children's health and longevity and warding off the evil eye. On the auspicious occasion, women fast and perform puja rituals. To appease the 'Naga Devatha', special sweetmeats such as 'chalimidi' incorporating rice flour, sugar syrup and ghee were prepared and offered to the Serpent Gods.

Along with sweetmeats, eggs and other fruits were offered to the 'Naga Devatha' at the snake pits. In some areas where snake pits were spotted, litter piled up as people left empty water bottles, sheets of paper and a bunch of single-use plastic covers after performing the puja rituals. However, despite repeated warnings given by the animal activists, many had burst fireworks near the snake pits after pouring milk and offering prayers. For a section of people, the festival rituals turned out to be a business deal as they collected eggs placed at the pits to resell them at the roadside eateries for a lower price. Shiva temples and shrines with Serpent deities witnessed crowds as devotees offered prayers on the occasion.