Congress duty-bound to protect ancient temples: Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka

JAGTIAL : Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka said the Congress government, under the leadership of Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, was committed to protecting and developing the state’s ancient temples.

Vikramarka, along with Social Welfare Minister Adluri Laxman Kumar and Endowments Commissioner M Hanumanth Rao, performed the Bhoomi Pooja for the reconstruction of the historic Ugra Narasimha Swamy temple at Dharmapuri in Jagtial district on Monday.

Speaking on the occasion, Vikramarka said the government was working in accordance with the aspirations of the people. He said elaborate arrangements were being made for the 2027 Godavari Pushkarams, with `1,000 crore allocated in the budget for Pushkar-related development works.

As part of the preparations, prominent temples from Basara to Bhadrachalam would be developed and infrastructure improved to facilitate pilgrims. Around `200 crore would be spent on Pushkar-related works in the Dharmapuri Assembly constituency, covering the Dharmapuri and Kotilingala pilgrimage centres.

The deputy chief minister said he was fortunate to participate in the reconstruction of the centuries-old Ugra Narasimha Swamy temple and assured that the development works would be completed before the next Godavari Pushkarams.

Rs 200 CRORE PUSHKAR WORKS PLANNED FOR DHARMAPURI

The government has sanctioned Rs 10 crore for reconstruction of the Ugra Narasimha Swamy temple, for which Vikramarka laid the foundation stone. As part of the Godavari Pushkar development programme, foundation stones were laid for Pushkar ghats at Dharmapuri at a cost of Rs 22.16 crore. Road works covering nine roads in Dharmapuri and Kotilingala would be taken up at an estimated cost of Rs 58.55 crore. During his visit, Vikramarka announced an additional Rs 80 crore for Godavari Pushkar-related works in the Dharmapuri constituency. With Rs 117 crore already released, the total allocation for Pushkar works in the constituency is expected to reach around Rs 200 crore