Telangana Tirupati cries for attention

CALL OF THE ABODE

• Shrine awaits govt patronage
• Lack of proper facilities cuts short pilgrims’ stay
• Temple spruced up for Navaratri Brahmotsavams beginning from Ugadi

Khammam: Like many other places in the State, the potential of religious tourism remains untapped in Khammam district. The ancient Jamalapuram Venkateswara Swamy temple, popularly known as Telangana Tirupati, is no exception.

The history of Jamalapuram, a tiny village nestled in a picturesque lush green countryside about 80 km from Khammam, dates back to the times of Jabali Maharshi, who observed a rigorous penance atop Suchi Hill. Impressed upon his penance, the Lord himself made Suchi Hill his abode, according to legends.

However, the historical evidences available for about 800 years indicate that the temple was renovated by Kakatiya ruler Pratapa Rudra who visited the temple on his way to Tiruvuru as part of his ‘Jaitra Yatra’ and renovated the Pushkarini and the shrine. About 200 years later, it was the turn of Vijayanagara emperor Sri Krishnadevaraya to give a facelift to the temple.

“The temple had a glorious past,” chief priest of the temple Uppala Srinivasa Sarma said, pointing to the historical evidences that uphold the sanctity of the shrine.Although the shrine was taken over by the Endowments Department 1969, the temple has never attracted the attention of the government. Whatever development that the temple had seen was only due to the patronage of devotees.

The devotional trance of the locales here sans hustle and bustle of urbanisation lures for devotees to stay for at least a couple of days here. But the choultries, constructed way back in 1970s by the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), here do not encourage devotees. With no proper food facilities here, the devotees pack up their baggage immediately after their darshan.A mega tourism plan that envisages construction of a tank bund along the Pedda Cheruvu (tank) with boating and food facilities is yet to take off.

Post bifurcation, it appears unlikely that the TTD takes up the renovation of choultries and set up a Veda Patasala, a demand that has been pending for a long time.Meanwhile, the temple has been spruced up for Navaratri Brahmotsavams which began on Ugadi, the Telugu New Year on Saturday.

The temple executive officer A V Ramana Murthy said that all arrangements had been made for the convenience of devotees visiting the shrine. “Temple administration has planned several cultural programmes in which film artistes Gundu Hanumantha Rao, Anant and others will take part,” he added.

By Adepu Mahender