Andhra Pradesh Endowments Minister Pydikondala Manikyala Rao on Sunday informed that the State government was planning to organise the Godavari Pushkaralu on a grand scale.
Speaking to media persons, Rao said about Rs 500 crores would be spent on the Godavari Pushkaralu, which are held on the banks of the river once in every 12 years.
He said that the necessary proposals had already been sent to the Central Government, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi had been invited to inaugurate the Pushkaralu to be held next year.
The Godavari river is sacred to Hindus, and has several places on its banks that have been places of pilgrimage for hundreds of years.
The minister also informed that the government had initiated the process of restoring nearly 28,000 acres of endowment land which was under encroachment. (INN)