Don’t extract money from devotees

Annavaram (East Godavari): Endowments Minister Pydikondala Manikyala Rao on Wednesday asked the Annavaram temple priests, especially those performing Satyanarayana Swamy Vratam, not to extract money in the name of gifts and charity. He said that he would not tolerate if devotees were harassed in any way. A group of priests called on the Minister and shared their woes with him.

The Minister lent a patient ear to them and asked them not to pester devotees for money. He also received a memorandum from priests and assures to address their problems. Talking to media at Vinayaka guest house here, Manikyala Rao observed that there were no Satyanarayana Swamy temples in the North-Eastern States.

He mooted the idea of celebrating Satyanarayana Swamy Vratam and puja overseas on the lines of Lord Balaji Kalyanotsavam and Vaibhavotsavams to sensitise people about the significance of Annavaram deity. He said that all proposals for the development of Annavaram temple have been set aside to develop the temple as per the master plan to rule out environmental problems.

Replying to a question, he said that there was no scope for appointing a specified authority to the temple and noted that it would take some more time to constitute the temple trust board. Specified authority was appointed to Srisailam to develop it on the lines of Tirumala shifting the quarters and local people to somewhere else. As no such problems are there in Annavaram, specified authority appointment was not necessary for now, he added.