Hithakarini Samajam of Kandukuri Veeresalingam in dire straits
Hithakarini Samajam had been established in 1905 to eradicate superstitious customs and traditions from the society, perform remarriage of child widows, educate people and provide shelter to widows and orphans
Kakinada: Hithakarini Samajam, founded by the great social reformer and writer Kandukuri Veeresalingam Panthulu, is in dire straits, as the properties he had donated to support the reformist organisation, have not been taken care to meet the stated goals.
The Samajam had been established in 1905 to eradicate superstitious customs and traditions from the society, perform remarriage of child widows, educate people and provide shelter to widows and orphans.
To support these objectives, Veeresalingam donated 35 acres of land in Rajamahendravaram city and over 10 acres in Rajanagaram mandal of East Godavari district.
The Hithakarini Samajam established educational institutions, including Sri Kandukuri Veeresalingam Theistic English Medium Convent, a high school, junior college, degree college and a women college in the name of late Sri Kandukuri Rajyalakshmi.
During the 1990s, the then Congress government gave some of the lands away to the people who had encroached on it. Later, a road had been laid through the land, linking other roads to the Sri Kandukuri Rajyalakshmi Women’s College. Five years’ ago, Rajamahendravaram municipality dug a major drain without laying any slabs.
The Hithakarini Samajam got hit majorly after the previous YSRC government took over all its educational institutions except the junior college, along with 27 acres of land. However, these assets have not been transferred yet to the state government legally, as they are under the Endowments Act. If the government still wants to acquire such properties, it should take permission from the High Court, as “nobody should undermine the objectives of the donor.”
Social activist and Town Hall secretary Jammi Rama Rao said many of the things that have happened have been against the “will” of Veeresalingam. He demanded that the government develop the remaining properties of Hithakarini Samajam, including Veeresalingam and his wife’s graves, houses, and Desiraju Peda Papaya's grave, and preserve and exhibit Veerasalingam’s writings for future generations.
Endowments department executive officer J. Vinod Kumar said he is making efforts to protect the properties of Hithakarini Samajam and implement the objectives of the organisation. He assured that all efforts are being made to increase the revenue of the organisation.
In the interim, the Rajamahendravaram municipality has issued notices to Hithakarini Samajam to pay tax of ₹40,000, when the organisation has no sources of income.
