ADILABAD: The Meshram clan, numbering about 2,500, has come a long way from the days when it could not contribute Rs 40,000 as its share towards the construction of Nagoba temple at Keslapur in Indravelli mandal in the 1990s. The government at that time had spent over Rs 4 lakh for the temple. In an indication of the clan’s growing prosperity, its members have raised Rs 5 crore for the construction of the sanctum sanctorum of the temple.
The construction has been completed and the installation of the idol is scheduled to be held on Monday.
The Meshram clan believes that it is the custodian of the temple and people belonging to this tribal group living across the country have donated the money for the purpose.
The idol installation celebrations that began on December 12 will conclude on Monday. Most of the Meshram clan members have descended on the village for the celebrations.
The reconstruction of the sanctum sanctorum began in 2018 after dismantling the old structure. The tribal clan has a distinct culture of its own; its members used to offer prayers to their deity under a tree till the State government constructed the temple in the 1990s. The stone pillars of the new temple, made by sculptors at Allagadda in Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh, depict their culture and tradition apart from the emblem of the Gondvana kingdom which is believed to have been ruled by Gond kings in the 15th century.
Meshram Anand Rao, a community leader, said that the pillars will provide an insight into the culture, traditions and rituals to the future generations of his clan.
Meshram Dev Rao, a youth leader of the clan, said that around 300 young Meshram members have been doing voluntary work at the temple.
Godam Nagesh, a former MP, said that in the 1990s they couldn’t contribute their share of Rs 4 lakh sanctioned by the government. “We are very proud that now our people were able to pool Rs 5 crore for the sanctum sanctorum.
The State government has sanctioned Rs 10.35 crore for other development works of the temple. Apart from this, Rs 7 crore has been set aside as corpus fund by the endowments department,” he said.
In January, Nagoba jatara, considered the second biggest after the Sammakka Sarallama, will be held in the new temple.
MINISTER PRAYS AT TEMPLE
Endowments Minister A Indrakaran Reddy, ZP chairman Rathod Janardhan, Adilabad collector Sikta Patnaik, ITDA project officer K Varun Reddy and former MP Godam Nagesh visited the temple and offered prayers to the snake god on Saturday. The minister said that it was a matter of pride that the Meshram clan itself donated `5 crore for the construction of the sanctum sanctorum. He said that the State government has sanctioned `10.35 crore for other works and `50 lakh for the sanctum sanctorum.