The works on developing the famous hill shrine of Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy in Yadagirigutta are all set to begin in the new Telugu new year. The new year, Ugadi, falls on March 21.
Chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao is keen that the work on developing the hill shrine begin in the new year after which the new almanac comes into use.
Rao, who visited the hill shrine on Wednesday, held a meeting with officials of various departments after visiting the every nook and corner on the hilltop. Rao said there should be no structure other than the temple, the administrative office and the temple-run guest house on the hill. He wanted one single shopping complex built and all shops, scattered here and there now, shifted into it.
Rao found the back side of Punnami Guest House in bad condition and chided the officials for poor sanitation.
Rao said his government would allocate not less than Rs 100 crore in the budget every year for development of Yadagirigutta. Stating that the hill shrine would be developed as a comprehensive spiritual centre, he said he would ask religious seer Chinna Jeeyar Swamy to visit Yadagirigutta and advised officials to seek his suggestions on development of the shrine.
The chief minister, who wants to develop Yadagirigutta on the lines of Tirumala, said that all the roads leading to Yadagirigutta should reverberate with Vedic chants, spiritual discourses and devotional songs, and asked officials to put in place the required sound systems. “The roads should be lined with boards displaying writings promoting moral values and devotional fervour, and preserving environment”.
Rao instructed officials to construct 500 cottages for providing accommodation to pilgrims. “Reintroduce the service of performance of weddings and Vratams. Ensure that Satyanarayana Swamy vratams for groups are performed on a mass scale on the hill. There should not be any obstruction to these activities even while construction activity is going on”.
Rao said he would constantly monitor the developmental works and asked officials to identify the stone for carving out a massive statue of Lord Hanuman and asked officials to entrust the responsibility to noted sculptors.
When some officials suggested construction of a helipad on the hillock, Rao rejected the proposal, saying that any developmental activity should not come in the way of preserving the sanctity of the temple. Apart from the funds being allocated by the government, Rao said there was every possibility of donors, corporate and multinational companies coming forward to contribute to the development of the temple.
CM’s Grand Vision
A massive stone statue of Lord Hanuman to be built on the hillock
Sri Tridandi Chinna Jeeyar Swamy’s suggestions to be taken for shrine development
There should be no structure on the hill other than the temple, admin office, temple-run guest house and shopping complex
All roads leading to Y’gutta should reverberate with Vedic chants, spiritual discourses and devotional songs
Performance of weddings and Satyanarayana Vratams on mass scale should be reintroduced
Govt to allocate Rs 100 every year in the state budget for shrine’s development
Source: The New Indian Express