Hyderabad: Almost two weeks after the state festival of Bonalu ended, various temple committees are still awaiting the government funds that were sanctioned for the event. They claim that the delay is because Endowments department officials have not forwarded the list to the district collector for the clearance of payments.

The state government had sanctioned funds to temples in the city for making arrangements for Bonalu, which is considered a state festival. The festival started on June 26 and ended on July 21. While the government had allocated Rs 20 crore for the temples, many small temples have yet to receive these funds.

According to temple committee members, they have been visiting offices to inquire when their money would be deposited into their temple’s bank account. One temple committee member, Sathish (name changed), said that the Endowments officials were not submitting the Bonalu application to the collector’s office.

As per the procedure, every year, thousands of applications are received as the government provides Bonalu funds to temples in Hyderabad, Secunderabad, and Ranga Reddy District. This year, hundreds of applications are still pending in district offices, even though temple committee members have been visiting the offices to request the funds. They alleged that the department officials were unable to provide a correct answer.

Another committee member, Ravi Kumar, said that they have been collecting cheques every year. “We have been taking cheques every year, but this year there has been no response from the officials. In the past, we used to approach official Rama Krishna Rao, who ensured funds were cleared as per the recommendation of the officials and public representatives, but this time there was a big delay,” said Ravi Kumar.

Meanwhile, a Hans News Service reporter tried to contact the concerned official but there was no response.