Encroached temple lands will be reclaimed soon, says Endowments minister

Vaishaka Shukla paksha 13, Kaliyug Varsh 5117

Warangal : Endowments minister A Indrakaran Reddy has said that they were taking all steps as per the law to reclaim the temple lands that were encroached upon in the State.

He asked the officials to vacate the building, adjoining the historic Bhadrakali temple, that was built for the convenience of pilgrims.  The minister visited  Bhadrakali temple here on Saturday to particcipate in the ongoing Brahmotsavams.

Later speaking to newsmen, he said that there were a total of 82,000 acres of land owned by various temples in the state and added that they were taking steps to reclaim the lands that were encroached upon by following the due legal procedures.

 He also said that a total of 54 acres of Endowments land at Kazipet had been given to the Railways for setting up a wagon factory.  An amount of Rs 20 crore was sanctioned to the Endowments department, he added.

The minister said a high-level review meeting will be conducted to discuss the delay over the construction of the Kalyana Mandapam  here. He also said that he would impress upon chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao to attend the proposed Chandiyagam at the temple.

The priests said that the last Chandiyagam was conducted some 16 years ago. Speaking on the arrangements for Godavari Pushkarams,  scheduled to be held in July, he said that they were constructing 107 bathing ghats in five Telangana districts and added that he would inspect the progress of works by visiting all the places before May 15.

The minister was accorded traditional welcome by the endowments officials and priests of Bhadrakali temple. He was accompanied by MLAs D Vinay Bhaskar and B Shankar Naik.

Source : TNIE