BJP Seeks Cultural Training Centres in Temples

 Kakinada: The Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Janata Varadhi team has urged the state government to develop temples into spiritual and cultural centres by establishing free cultural training centres in a phased manner to promote Indian traditions, arts and spiritual values, particularly among the youth.

A delegation led by Janata Varadhi co-convener Yanapu Yesu submitted a memorandum to East Godavari district collector P. Kirthi Chekuri during the Public Grievance Redressal programme at Rajamahendravaram on Monday.

The team proposed daily one-hour training sessions in traditional art forms, including Bhajana, Kolatam, Chekka Bhajana, Harikatha, Yakshaganam, Purana Pravachanam and Nadaswaram music in temples across the state.

It also sought a transparent policy for selecting cultural programmes in temples, including those administered by Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), through district-level committees headed by the district collector or other competent authority.

The memorandum further proposed appointing qualified local artistes as part-time trainers with an honorarium, aligning training with the traditions of individual temples, and issuing certificates to trainees while providing them opportunities to perform during temple festivals.

In a separate representation, Janata Varadhi members led by BJP Kakinada district president Bikkina Visweswara Rao urged the district administration to protect the livelihood of Yadav community shepherds near the Polavaram embankment at Kodavali village, alleging that some individuals were preventing them from grazing sheep and cattle and lodging police complaints against them.

The BJP leaders also appealed to the government to take up construction of a protective seawall at Uppada Kothapalli on priority to address the problem of severe coastal erosion.