Hyderabad: Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao on Sunday announced that Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple at Yadadri would be reopened after conducting a maha yagna of sahasraashta (1,008) yagnagundams, soon after completion of the ongoing renovation work.
Speaking to reporters after inspecting the work, Mr Rao said Vaishnavites from 133 countries would participate in the ceremonies to reopen the temple and 6,000 seers would perform the maha yagna.
The Chief Minister said work was nearly completed and they wanted to complete the project, including building the presidential suites coming up on the temple premises to accommodate guests and the ring road between the temple and the temple city which is being developed on a 1,000-acre site.
Mr Rao explained that 10 to 15 lakh devotees were expected on the day of reopening of the temple, apart from the President, Prime Minister, chief ministers and governors.
Alleging that the Yadadri temple was neglected by the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh government, he said '70 crore has been sanctioned for land acquisition near the temple.
The Chief Minister said construction of seven gopurams on the temple premises was on in full swing and majority of the work had already been completed.
He earlier conducted an aerial survey of the renovation works and also checked new constructions on the temple premises. He also had a darshan of the deity at Balalayam and offered special prayers.
After prayers, he inspected renovation work of the sanctum sanctorum, inner and outer prakrams, Rathashala and construction of the Shivalayam and various streets in the temple town.
The Chief Minister told architect Anand Sai and engineer-in-chief Ravin-der Rao and other officials supervising the works not to compromise on the quality of construction.
Mr Rao received a cheque of '10 crore as donation from the Raju Vegesna Foundation for construction of annadana satram at the temple town. He said many people were coming forward to donate money for construction of guest houses and choultries in the temple town. So far, 43 donors had come forward to donate '2 crore each.
Mr Rao said he would visit the temple after 15 days to inspect the progress of renovation work and the new constructions.
He said the temple town will be linked to the temples at Kolanupaka, some 20 km away, and Basaraju project to develop Yadadri as a tourist spot.
