Berhampur: The sleepy village of Panchama on the outskirts of Berhampur transformed into a sea of devotion on Monday as thousands thronged its ancient Siddhi Vinayak Temple on Ganesh Chaturthi. Worshippers from across Odisha and neighbouring Andhra Pradesh queued up from the early hours, while the rush continued till evening, with devotees undeterred even by afternoon showers.Commerce and transport minister Bibhuti Bhusan Jena, Berhampur MP Pradeep Kumar Panigrahy, several MLAs from Ganjam district, collector Keerthi Vasan V and Berhampur SP Saravana Vivek M among others also visited the temple and offered prayers.To manage the crowd, police had deployed seven platoons of their force and 15 officers around the temple, while local volunteers assisted in regulating the flow of the devotees. “No untoward incident was reported during the celebrations,” the SP said.The temple management committee made extensive arrangements to ensure smooth darshan. As in previous years, around 15 autorickshaws were pressed into service to ferry elderly devotees and persons with disabilities from Randha to the temple.The committee also distributed free laddu and khichdi prasad among the devotees. “More than two lakh laddus were distributed during the festival,” said Gouri Samantara, a member of the temple committee. Preparations for the event were finalised at a coordination meeting involving the district administration, police and temple development committee ahead of the festival.A major attraction is a tree believed to be over 500 years old. Many offer prayers beneath it, convinced that Lord Ganesh manifested there. According to local legend, the shrine dates back to the time of Gajapati Purushottam Dev’s Kanchi expedition. It is said that the king, while resting in the area, heard a celestial voice advising him to worship Lord Ganesh before proceeding to Kanchi. During a search, his men reportedly discovered an idol of the deity within the tree. After returning victorious, the king is believed to have built a small temple at the site.