Arrangements for Bonalu reviewed

Secunderabad: With Bonala Jathara at Ujjain Mahankali temple slated to be conducted on July 21 and 22, Minister for Cinematography, Animal Husbandry, Diary and Fisheries Talasani Srinivas Yadav visited the famous temple on Thursday to inspect the arrangements made for the annual celebrations.

Speaking on the occasion, the minister said that the annual celebrations were conducted on a grand note every year by the state government after the formation of Telangana state. He said that all measures were taken to ensure that lakhs of devotees who visit the temple during the jathara would not face any inconvenience. The officials would make coordinated efforts to ensure that the celebrations are conducted in peaceful and smooth manner, the minister said.

An amount of Rs 15 crore was sanctioned by Telangana CM for temple repairs, he said. GHMC has sanctioned another Rs 27 crore for conduct of jathara, and to undertake repairs of roads and footpaths around the temple, he said. Measures are being taken to provide drinking water and prevent traffic jams during the celebrations.

Separate queues would be arranged for the women carrying bonalu from Ramgopalpet old police station and Bata crossroads, he said. The minister ordered the officials to shift two pillars near the temple to be shifted as they may cause inconvenience to devotees. He exuded confidence that the Bonalu Jathara would be conducted on a grand note with the coordinated efforts of the government officials.

Prominent persons among those who accompanied the minister include GHMC commissioner Dana Kishore, zonal commissioner Raghu Prasad, corporator Athelli Aruna Goud, temple EO Annapurna, RDO Raja Goud, Secunderabad MRO Vijaya Bhaskar, additional traffic DCP Bhaskar, Mahankali ACP Vinod, Mahankali traffic inspector Venugopal, DC Nalini Padmavathi, streetlights EE Prabhakar, medical officer Ravinder Goud, engineering EE Venkatadasu, water works director operations Krishna, water works manager Rajashekhar, Electrical DE Lakshminarayana, horticulture DE Rammohan, regional manager of Secunderabad RTC Sridhar, SE of R&B Narsing Rao, Hari Krishna from cultural department, district fire officer Srinivas Reddy, town planning section officer Madhu, junior range officer Satish and others.