Temple works at snail’s pace

Atmakur (Kurnool): Works to give facelift to the Sangameshwara temple and the Kolanu Bharati temple, the only Goddess Saraswati temple in Andhra Pradesh, are going on at a snail’s pace for well over a year due to the lackadaisical attitude of the contractor belonging to Chittoor district.

Highlights:

• Renovation and repair works are still going on
• Devotees seek intervention of the Endowments secretary Anuradha

In 40 days, the Sangameshwar temple at the confluence of the seven rivers in Atmakur will soon go under the flood waters of river Krishna ruling out the possibility of undertaking repairs to the temple structure by at least a year. The devotees point out that the two temples have been under renovation prior to Krishna Pushkaralu last year and so far there is no perceptible progress achieved blaming officials and contractors for playing with the religious sentiments of the devotees.

They urged the Endowments secretary Anuradha, who they said is an officer of probity, to respond on the issue seriously.
Prior to Pushkaralu to River Krishna in 2016, the then District Collector sanctioned Rs 90.5 lakh to re-build temple compound wall, six sub-temples, north Rajagopuram, eastern doorway and other structures.

During the past one year, the progress recorded was not even 50 per cent. Even the works executed were of sub-standard, the devotees said. The 11th century Kolanu Bharati temple was pulled down in February 2016 in the name of renovation with allocation of Rs 1 crore from the common good fund by the Endowments department.

The contractor ensured that 30 per cent of the works were done entrusting the works to a mason. The devotees allege that the works are going on at a snail pace as the department tolerated the irregularities by the contractor. They appeal to Anuradha, Endowments Secretary, to intervene in the matter and take suitable remedial measures.