The month long Bonalu festival in Hyderabad has started on Thursday, 21 June 2012 with major processions taken out from Ujjaini Mahakali temple in Secunderabad, Golconda and Lal Darwaza in the old city of Hyderabad.

The Bonalu festival, considered to be a major festival in the Telangana region, is celebrated annually in the month of Aashaadhham. The festival commences with the procession taken out of Mahakali temple in Golconda and comes to an end after month long festivities with the presiding deity offered bonalu at the Lal Darwaza temple. The festival is celebrated with great fervor and reverence all over in Telangana in the month of aashaadhham.

The state government makes elaborate arrangements every year for the festival in Hyderabad and other prominent places in Telangana. This year several temple committees in city have been complaining that the government was not doing enough to ensure a snag-free celebration of the festival. The committee members claimed that even after repeated requests, garbage was not being cleared near temples which was causing inconvenience to the devotees.