Hyderabad, 23 September (IANS) Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy demanded on Tuesday that the Center should allocate funds for the tribal fair to be held in January 2026.
The Chief Minister urged the Center to grant the status of a national festival for Medaram Jatra and to provide adequate support to the state government for organizing a grand scale.
Addressing a public meeting at Medam in Mulugu district, the Chief Minister questioned the Center for not supporting India’s largest tribal Jatra at the famous Samamka Saralamma temple.
The Center is issuing thousands of crores of funds to Kumbh Mela, but showing indifference to Medaram Jatra, CM Revantha Reddy alleged.
He accused the previous BRS government of discriminating against the Medaram temple during his 10 -year rule.
He said that the state government is ready to release the necessary funds to develop the temple. “It is not only my responsibility, but also a sense of visiting the temple and developing the sanctum sanctorum. With the blessings of the gods, Samka Saralma, I proud of Padyatra from the famous temple on 6 February 2023, to separate the previous government,” he said.
The Chief Minister, who had earlier visited the temple, directed the authorities to construct new structures. He said that the work should be completed before the beginning of the Maha Jatra to avoid any inconvenience for crores of devotees.
Saying that the government of the people was built with the blessings of the famous gods- Samka Saralma, Revantha Reddy said that the government is ready to release sufficient funds for the development of the temple.
He directed the officials to constitute a dedicated official team to expedite the temple functions and complete them within a time limit of 100 days.
In a review on the development of the temple with local temple officials, priests and representatives, the Chief Minister emphasized that tribal culture, traditions and their beliefs should be taken into consideration in the development of the famous temple.
Since the temple is located in ancient nature, CM Revent Reddy also said that new structures should face natural disasters. A facility should also be part of the development of the temple to construct check dams and reserve Jampanna Vagu (revision).
The officials informed the priests and tribal groups about the schemes that had information about the schemes including design and other development works in the temple premises.
When tribal groups brought various issues related to tribal culture and traditions, the Chief Minister assured that tribal culture, traditions and beliefs would be given immense importance.
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MS/UK