Bathukamma rekindled Telangana spirit: Errabelli

Hanamkonda: The value of Bathukamma saris can't be evaluated, Panchayat Raj Minister Errabelli Dayakar Rao said, stating that it's not right to assess a gift, especially when it's from parental side to a woman.

Distributing Bathukamma saris along with Government Chief Whip D Vinay Bhaskar in Hanamkonda on Wednesday, he said that the festival is set to begin on September 28, and ahead of it, the government is distributing sarees worth around Rs 313 crore to 1.02 crore women in the State.

"The Andhra rulers in the undivided State totally ignored the festival. In fact, the festival was disappeared in villages that are adjacent to Andhra districts. Against this backdrop, Telangana Jagruthi president K Kavitha was instrumental in igniting the spirit of the festival. It also helped in uniting people during the statehood movement," he said. Even in abroad, Bathukamma festival is now being celebrated, he added.

Referring to Kalyana Lakshmi, Shaadi Mubarak, KCR Kits etc, the Minister said that it shows the commitment of the TRS government headed by K Chandrashekar Rao towards women. Errabelli said that he and Vinay Bhaskar have been in regular touch with MA&UD Minister KT Rama Rao to discuss about the city development.

Speaking on the occasion, Vinay Bhaskar said the TRS government is treating all communities equally.

As many as 2.23 lakh women would get Bathukamma sarees in the city. Of which, 97,391 belong to Warangal West constituency, he said. "Bathukamma festival has become an icon of Telangana. Stating that Bathukamma's is a festival of worshipping nature, he appealed to people to take up plantation drive on a massive note.

He said that the 30-day special action plan is set to give good results in gram panchayats.

"We have plans to discuss with KTR about introducing an action plan for the development of Warangal. As of now, the district administration is in mission mode to prevent use of plastic bags, and promoting cloth, paper and jute bags," Vinay said.

Greater Warangal Mayor Gunda Prakash Rao, KUDA chairman Marri Yadava Reddy, Corporators Swaroopa Rani, Swathi Reddy, Saritha, Ranjitha Rao, RDO K Venka Reddy and additional municipal commissioner Ch Nageshwar were among others present.