Medaram Jatara: Officials racing against time to arrange amenities for devotees

Mulugu: With little over two months left for the biennial Sammakka-Saralamma Jatara, said to be Asia’s biggest tribal fair, it’s going to be a tough task for the administration to ensure proper amenities for the devotees at Medaram village in Mulugu district.

The four-day jatara is to commence on February 21, 2024. The Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Thursday sanctioned Rs 75 crore much like the last two biennial carnivals for the conduct of the jatara. The delay is understandable in the wake of elections to the Assembly and the transition of power at the state level. It may be noted here that, Endowments Minister Konda Surekha met the CM on Wednesday and sought the immediate release of the funds.

Although the dates of the jatara were announced on May 3, the previous government didn’t take any initiative to gear up for the arrangements in Medaram.

“Works begin late and run till the last hour. As a result, it’s not only difficult for the administration to accomplish the desired results but also hard for them to ensure quality in the work,” an official from the ITDA told The Hans India.

Although there was a long-pending demand for establishing permanent facilities at Medaram, the successive governments never showed any interest. Instead, they preferred makeshift arrangements for obvious reasons. The government which spends crores of rupees for arranging temporary toilets never focuses on permanent measures, he said.

Meanwhile, ITDA, Eturnagaram, Project Officer Ankit inspected the progress of ongoing works at Incherla and Chalvai villages. He directed the contractors to complete the works well ahead of the commencement of the jatara.

It’s learnt that the Panchayat Raj and Rural Development Minister Danasari Anasuya alias Seethakka is to hold a review meeting next week on jatara arrangements. She had already held a review meeting on the preparedness of Medaram jatara in Hyderabad.