Make Jyoti Utsavam a success, Minister tells officials

Banaganapalle (Nandyal district): R&B Minister BC Janardhan Reddy has directed the officials of all departments to work in coordination to ensure grand success of Ugadi Jyoti Utsavam at Sri Chowdeswari Devi Temple in Banaganapalle.

On Monday, he held a review meeting at the temple premises with the officials from various departments regarding the seven-day-long festival scheduled from March 30 to April 5.

Addressing the meeting, after having Goddess darshan, the Minister ordered the officials to ensure arrangements for providing drinking water, sanitation, transport, medical facilities, and electricity. He also stressed the importance of police coordination to ensure the safety of devotees.

Speaking on temple development, he recalled that during his tenure as an MLA, significant improvements were made to the temple under the leadership of former chairman PV Kumar Reddy, who mobilised crores of rupees from donors for the temple development. “I personally installed a mineral water plant at Rs 12 lakh from my pocket as I am personally committed to revamping the temple infrastructure,” he added.

He informed that compound wall and Kalyana Mandapam were constructed with donor contributions under the supervision of former chairman Kumar Reddy and Temple EO Nageshwaramma.

Minister Janardhan Reddy criticised that the previous government had neglected Endowments department, thus several temples remained underdeveloped. However, under the current administration, Endowments Minister Anam Ramanarayana Reddy has been prioritising temple restoration, bringing the former glory to them.

He highlighted that Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu recognises the significance of temples, hence taking special initiatives in this regard.