Visakhapatnam: Endowments Minister Anam Ramanarayana Reddy said that a number of development works will be carried out in temples across Andhra Pradesh. Speaking to the media in Visakhapatnam on Friday after visiting Simhachalam Devasthanam, the minister said, “A massive temple revamping exercise has been taken up in the state to the tune of Rs.500 crore. They will be completed following strict timelines and officials were told to wrap up the exercise in 18 to 24 months.”

The NDA government is keen on developing temples and maintaining quality standards in the premises. Soon, trust boards and committees would be formed for the temples as the tenure of a few committees are going to be completed next. The significance of temples saw a new high in Andhra Pradesh after the NDA government came to power, the minister emphasised.

In about 5,600 temples, the minister informed, funds are allocated to perform spiritual rituals and each temple approximately receives Rs 10,000 per month, he added. Also, the NDA government plans to launch ‘annadana prasadam’ in all temples across AP. However, with financial constraints faced by some of the temples, steps will be taken to implement annadanam considering alternative ways. “In order to organise major festivals, a safety committee would be constituted,” Anam Ramanarayana Reddy stated. After the introduction of IVRS and QR code scanning system, the minister added that temples witnessed progress. The minister held a review meeting with the endowments officials and Executive Officer of Sri Varaha Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Devasthanam V Trinadha Rao, he instructed the officials to focus on improved amenities for devotees, safety of devotees, sanitation, quality annadanam, arrangements of queue lines.