Telangana Finance Minister T Harish Rao, along with MLA Padma Devender Reddy and the district Collector, offered silk vastrams to Goddess Vaba Durga Bhavani Mata at the Edupayala Durga Bhavani temple in Medak district today.
The minister extended his greetings to the people on the occasion of Sivaratri, and revealed that he had prayed to Lord Shiva for the state's prosperity.
Rao then spoke about the TRS government's commitment to preserving and developing the temples in the state, and added, "Our government is invested in protecting the heritage of Telangana. We are spending Rs 1 crore on the development of the Edupayala temple as well. Besides this, Rs 36 crore is being spent on developing the 100 ft road to the temple from Potham Shettipally, and we are working to construct various facilities for the devotees. A guest house, a convention centre, an ATM, an RTC bus stop, and a police check post will be built for their convenience soon."
The minister also said that the preceding governments of undivided Andhra Pradesh had neglected the temple, and that the recent increases in footfall was proof of the TRS regime's success in developing the shrine.
"Our government has worked tirelessly to bring prosperity to the people of Telangana. We have achieved much in our attempts to do so. Today, paddy is being cultivated in one crore acres of land during the current Vanakalam and Yasangi cropping seasons because we have been able to solve the problem of water shortage in rural Telangana. No other government has been able to achieve a similar feat. We are now working to increase the cultivable area in Medak too," he added.
The KCR government has indeed been trying to restore several religious sites in the state. Recently, Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao visited the Sri Lakshmi Narasimha temple in Yadadri-Bhuvanagiri district to
take stock of the ongoing renovation works on its premises. The government has been heavily invested in the project, and has expressed its desire to turn the temple into a "world class religious centre".