The 12-day long Krishna Pushkar festival began in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh on a grand note this morning. The festival comes once in every 12 years. <br/><br/>Telangana government has made elaborate arrangements as over three crore people expected to turn up for a holy dip at various places in Mahabubnagar and Nalgonda districts on the banks of the sacred river. <br/><br/>Pilgrims from neighbouring Karnataka, Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh are also expected to come in large numbers. <br/><br/>Chief Minister Chandrasekhara Rao inaugurated the festivities this morning by taking a holy dip in the river in accordance with all customs and rituals at Gondimalla Pushkar Ghat. <br/><br/>Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu accompanied by his wife Bhuvaneswari also took the holy dip in River Krishna near Durga Ghat early this morning.<br/><br/>A daily 'harati' programme will be organised at Ibrahimpatnam near Vijayawada, where the Godavari flows into Krishna. A host of cultural programmes involving top artistes have been lined up at various places.<br/><br/>Andhra Pradesh government has launched a website krishnapushkaram.ap.gov.in containing exhaustive information about the event. A GPS-based mobile application has also been launched for people to obtain information on ghats, the rush, bus services, etc.