MEDAK: Finance Minister T Harish Rao has said the famous Edupayala Durga Bhavani temple will be developed as a popular tourist destination. The minister inaugurated four-day Durga Bhavani Jatara on the occasion of Maha Shivratri on Saturday. On behalf of the State government, Harish Rao along with Narsapur and Medak MLAs CH Madan Reddy and M Padma Devender Reddy respectively, offered silk clothes to the deity.
Speaking to the media on the occasion, the minister said that the temples of Telangana were completely neglected in the undivided Andhra Pradesh and Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao was giving priority to development of religious places after coming to power besides implementing several programmes for the welfare of Vedic scholars and priests.
Roads are being developed on both sides of Edupayala to provide easy access to the devotees to the Durga Bhavani temple, Harish said and added that Telangana was a model to other States in the country in the development of temples. He cited Yadagiri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple development and allocation of `600 crore by the chief minister to Kondagattu Anjaneya Swamy temple as an example of the State government’s commitment to develop religious tourism.
Later, he visited Borancha village in the Narayankhed constituency and performed special puja at the Pochamma temple and inaugurated the Basaveshwara lift scheme. He said that through Sanghameswara and Basaveshwara lift irrigation schemes being constructed in Sangareddy district, irrigation water would be provided to every acre in the neighbouring areas.
He congratulated District Collector A Sharath for smooth acquisition of the land for the project after convincing the farmers. He assured that the farmers who gave up their lands for the Basaveshwara lift irrigation scheme would be given adequate compensation and priority in the schemes implemented by the government. He promised to extend Dalit Bandhu scheme to all Dalits in Borancha.