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Lingagiri’s less-known Srimanthudu
Long before Mahesh Babu’s megahit flick Srimanthudu created ripples, popularising the concept of ‘giving back to your village’, Lingagiri, the abode of Chenna Keshava Swamy temple, 50 km east of Warangal, has a wealthy man settled in Hyderabad and doing his bit for the community to which he belongs.
Giving back to one’s native village
Warangal: Long before Mahesh Babu’s megahit flick Srimanthudu created ripples, popularising the concept of ‘giving back to your village’, Lingagiri, the abode of Chenna Keshava Swamy temple, 50 km east of Warangal, has a wealthy man settled in Hyderabad and doing his bit for the community to which he belongs.
Dodda Mohan Rao, Managing Director of Symed Laboratories Limited, who prefers to keep a low profile, did his schooling in Narsampet, before securing his Master’s degree in Chemistry and Ph.D. from the Regional Engineering College (now known as the National Institute of Technology) in Warangal.
Despite having carved a niche for himself among successful entrepreneurs in Hyderabad, Rao’s affinity for his native village, Lingagiri, has never diminished. Driven by his ingrained passion for agriculture and allure of rustic charm, he constructed a building for the farmers’ society in his village with an outlay of Rs 30 lakh in 2008.
The village’s swyambhu (self-manifest) Chenne Keshava Swamy temple, located in the burrow of the Lingagiri hillock, is well-known for hosting a three-day jatara (carnival) during Sankranti. Now, Rao has started the construction of another temple for the Lord atop the hillock. The Rs 2.30 crore temple is now being spruced up for consecration of the main idol, for which an elaborate ceremony has been scheduled for October 2.
While speaking to The Hans India, Lingagiri sarpanch Bommanapally Ganesh Chary observed: “The spacious precincts of the newly built temple, located atop a hillock in the vicinity of eight lakes, will be a huge attraction to those visiting the shrine. A motorable road leading to the new temple will provide comfort for pilgrims.”
A 51-foot Anjaneya Swamy idol coming up atop the hillock and the Kakatiya Kala Thoranam (grand arch) under construction near the foothill are going to be among the other attractions for visitors. The Rs 40 lakh guesthouse downhill is ready to be thrown open.
Rao has purchased six acres adjacent to the hillock for plantation as he wants to enhance the scenic beauty and aesthetics of the temple. This apart, he has distributed 8,000 saplings to local people as part of Haritha Haram.Influenced by the lofty objectives of Mission Kakatiya, Rao gave away Rs 1.50 crore to Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao towards the restoration of three tanks near Lingagiri in 2015.
Hailing Mohan Rao’s gesture towards the development of Lingagiri, Civil Supplies Corporation Chairman Peddi Sudarshan Reddy said that he was very happy to be part of the Utsava Committee of the Chenna Keshava Swamy vigraha pratishtapana (idol consecration) to be held from October 2 to 6.
Mohan Rao said that a host of related rituals, including homam, would be part of the five-day ceremony. Arrangements will be made to accommodate at least 700 couples at a time during the homam, he added.
By Adepu Mahender
