Government committed to development of temples, amenities for devotees, says Endowments Minister

Endowments Minister Anam Ramanarayana Reddy stated that the NDA alliance government was committed to the development of temples across the State, and towards providing better amenities for the visiting devotees.

The Minister on Thursday participated in the ‘Poleramma Jatara’ at Venkatagiri town in Tirupati district, a constituency which he represented in the past. Residents of Tirupati as well as Nellore districts thronged the town to take part in the festivities.

As the A.P. government had declared the event a State festival, Mr. Ramanarayana Reddy presented ‘silk vastrams’ to the Goddess on their behalf. Accompanied by Venkatagiri MLA Kurugondla Ramakrishna and the District Collector S. Venkateswar, he carried the clothing on his head and walked up to the temple, before offering it to the priests, who will then adorn it on the deity.

Speaking on the occasion, the Minister said that the NDA government had increased the number of State festivals from five to 11, which allowed for disbursal of funds up to ₹50 lakh each for the conduct of the festival. “This year, we released ₹40 lakh to Poleramma temple from Endowments Department to conduct the folk festival in a grand manner,” he said.

The Minister announced that a golden crown, ornaments like ‘Hasthalu’ and ‘Padhalu’ worth ₹1.70 crore had been readied for the Goddess. Mr. Reddy also laid the foundation stone for a building complex worth ₹1.65 crore to house ‘Dhyana Mandiram’.

Superintendent of Police V. Harshavardhan Raju, Gudur Sub-Collector Raghavendra Meena, Endowments in-charge Commissioner K. Ramachandra Mohan, temple trust board chairman G. Muralimohan also took part.