Mulugu: Officials told to camp in Medaram

Medaram (Mulugu): All the sectorial officials need to camp at Medaram, the abode of Sammakka Saralamma deities, after Sankranthi to focus on jatara arrangements, Minister for Tribal Welfare and Women Development Satyavathi Rathod said.

Conducting a review meeting with the officials at the ITDA office here on Monday, she directed the officials to ensure the completion of all the developmental works as early as possible. "Endowments Department would distribute bangaram, a term used for jaggery at the jatara, to the devotees, from this jatara onwards," Rathod said.

The comfort of the devotees turning to jatara is high on agenda of the government, the minister said, stating that she would be inspecting the progress of works at Medaram once in every three days, henceforth. The engineer-in-chief and other sectorial officials should be operating from Medaram after Sankranthi, she said.

"The government will not compromise if the contractors fail in ensuring quality of works in the name of completing them before the commencement of jatara," Rathod said. She said that enough time was given for the completion of works and there won't be any excuses. A third-party assessment would be taken into consideration for the quality check, she said. She told the forest officials not to discomfort the locals during the jatara.

Referring to the increasing number of devotees to Medaram, she stressed the need for arranging more number of toilets. The minister told the officials to spruce up the temple premises every day.

The officials were also told to ensure plastic free jatara. Mulugu MLA Danasari Anasuya aka Seethakka, ZP Chairman Kusuma Jagadish, ZP Vice-Chairperson Nagajyothy Medaram Trust Board Chairman Rammurthy, ITDA Project Officer V Chakradhar Rao and RDO Ramadevi were among others present. Earlier, the minister inspected the arrangements being taken by the authorities at Gattamma temple,near Mulugu.