GUNTUR: The 464-year-old Pedda Koneru in Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple is all set to get a facelift as the Endowments department has allotted Rs 1 crore to develop the temple tank. The koneru, which is present on the temple premises, is believed to be constructed during Sri Krishnadevaraya regime, which ruled the region in 1564 CE.
The pushkarini has staircase downwards to the pond from all the four sides. Locals believe that there was a golden temple at the bottom of the pond. They used to perform special poojas at Anjaneya Swamy temple present in the centre of the pond. According to historians, the pond had completely dried up during 1832 drought known as Dokkala Karuvu. Several hundreds of people died of starvation during the drought.
Later, the tank was restored with water following rains in the subsequent decades. On every Vasihaka Pournami, the temple authorities used to conduct teppotsavam in a grand ceremony till 1970. However, the koneru, which was considered a rich heritage structure, neglected in the past 50 years. Lack of proper maintenance pushed the structure to dilapidated condition. Although a few people made an attempt to renovate the pushkarini in 1996, they could not complete the mission due to water leakage from the tank. They dropped the plans to renovate it.
Local MLA Alla Ramakrishna Reddy who visited the temple took the issue to the notice of the chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy and got the clearance to renovate with endowment department funds. Subsequently, the department allotted Rs 1 crore and roped in experts for the excavation of the pond. The officials found several historical structures underneath the pond during the excavation works.
Along with this, the temple authorities allotted Rs 50 lakh for the development of the pond. The temple officials plan to finish the works in this year and facilitate the devotees to visit Anjaneya temple.