HANAMKONDA: The Kaloji Kalakshetram, a cultural centre being constructed in memory of renowned poet Kaloji Narayana Rao in Hanamkonda, has been left incomplete for a couple of years. In view of Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao’s decision to inaugurate Kaloji Kalakshetram on Dasara festival, the Hanamkonda district administration and Kakatiya Urban Development Authority (KUDA) have speeded up the pending construction works over the past few days.
However, even after the construction budget was raised from Rs 50 crore to Rs 75 crore, the National Institute of Technology (NIT) Warangal Engineering Expect Committee stated that the KUDA and Hanamkonda district administration are constructing the building using poor-quality materials. The local artists and Kaloji Foundation members found fault with the authorities’ finishing touch, which was good for nothing on the damaged pillars of the building.
They also criticised the authorities for blaming the Kaloji Foundation for poor quality of construction. They said that they are dissatisfied with the insufficient auditorium and the lack of a gallery and exhibition hall. However, KUDA chairman Sangam Reddy Sunder Raj Yadav and Government Chief Whip Dasyam Vinay Bhaskar are spreading propaganda for their political mileage, stating that the construction of Kaloji Kalakshetram is at a brisk pace.
In 2014, Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao laid the foundation stone for the Kalakshetram, the multi-purpose cultural centre in Hanamkonda, at an estimated cost of Rs 50 crore at Pochamma Maidan.
When TNIE contacted the KUDA chairman, he was not available for his comment.