Hectic lobbying on for chairman post of Sangameshwar temple

Zaheerabad:  Even after two years of issuing notification for appointing a governing body to the famous Ketaki Sangameshwara temple, which draws devotees not only from two Telugu states but also from neighbouring Karnataka, there has been no concrete action. 

The temple has an annual revenue of Rs 3 crore. Therefore, the chairman post of the governing body assumes significance. A notification to appoint the governing body to the temple was issued on August 18, 2016. Responding to the notification, over 50 had applied for the post of trustees. After verifying their background, the endowment officials and the police submitted a report to the endowments commissioner office at Sangareddy, who forwarded it to the higher ups in Hyderabad. 

The TRS government increased the number of trustees of the temple governing body from 9 to 14. One among them should be elected chairman. The government ruled that 33.3 per cent of them should be women. There were no receipts issued for parking, sale of laddus and performance of pujas and so on. It is alleged that lakhs of rupees are being siphoned off. The names of Narsimha Goud, who had taken part in movement for statehood to Telangana, and Lingayat leader Mali Patil Santosh and four others’ names are being heard for the chairman post. 

The moment the endowments officials give their green signal, the temple authorities will install the new governing body. Several TRS leaders resorted to hectic lobbying with Harish Rao, Major Irrigation Minister, BB Patil, MP Of Zaheerabad, and former minister and MLA Mohammad Fariduddin for the chairman post.