VIJAYAWADA: Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Thursday laid the foundation stone for a slew of development projects worth Rs 216.05 crore at Sri Durga Malleswara Varla Devasthanam (SDMSD) atop Indrakeeladri in the city.
The works, taken up as part of the master plan for developing Kanaka Durga temple, include construction of a staircase in front of the Rajagopuram, an elevated queue complex, Prasadam (potu) kitchen, puja mandapam, Nitya Annadanam Bhavan, additional queue complex on the south side of the temple, a multi-level car parking facility, Maharaja dwaram (door) at Kanaka Durga Nagar, Rajamarg, granite Yagasala, new tonsuring hall complex, a multi-facility complex, including a cow shed, and remodelling of queue complex at Mallikarjuna Maha Mandapam.
Additionally, the Chief Minister also inaugurated the Malleswara Swamy temple after it was renovated for Rs 5.60 crore and eight sub-temples which were renovated with Rs 3.87 crore.He also launched the Indrakeeladri protection system set up with Rs 4.25 crore, water management and SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) system set up with Rs 3.25-crore and a solar power station established with Rs 5.66 crore.
Further, Jagan Mohan Redyy also inaugurated the Vinayaka and Anjaneya temples constructed on the step-way.Deputy Chief Minister (Endowments) Kottu Satyanarayana told TNIE that Kanaka Durga temple, the second biggest temple in the State, will be developed on the lines of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD).
Elaborating on the master plan, he said the Nitya Annadanam complex, coming up near Mallikarjuna Maha Mandapam, will be able to serve food to 1,000 devotees at a time.“The multi-storey parking complex will have a capacity of 500 cars, permanent queue line complex with an elevated approach from the entrance near Kanaka Durga Nagar will reduce the burden on ghat road, entrance arch near Kanaka Durga Nagar and the additional queue lines will help in crowd management during festivals like Dasara and conferment of Bhavani Deeksha,” he explained.
The CM arrived at the Kanaka Durga temple around 9 am and participated in the foundation stone ceremony near Mallikarjuna Maha Mandapam. He inspected prototype for temple’s development plan. Officials explained to him about works that will be undertaken as part of the master plan.