CM KCR To Meet Archakas On September 15:- Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, in a first of its kind exercise, will hold a meeting with the archakas at Pragathi Bhavan on Friday. The meeting will be scheduled to discuss the problems faced by them and take decisions accordingly.

The officials were instructed by the CM, to have a preparatory meeting on Thursday on the salary hike for archakas, mode of payment of salaries, maintaining the Dhoop, Deep and Naivedyam. KCR held a high-level meeting with Ministers and officials on Wednesday.

KCR pointed out that temples in Telangana region were neglected, discriminated and added that injustice was meted out to them in the undivided Andhra Pradesh.

“The archakas and temple administration were also given a raw deal in terms of salaries. In the past, lands were given by Jagirdars and kings but the government had not given anything except ruling over the lands.”

It was only after the formation of Telangana State that the government gave lands to Vemulawada, Yadadri and now Bhadradri, added KCR. The CM, observing that funds for temples are spent from the allocations made in the budget; he said there was need to protect temple and temple lands. To prepare plans for the development of the temple, Sthapis would also be sent to Basar Gnana Saraswathi Temple. Moreover, to organize the spiritual programmes, a Dharmika Parishad should also be set up.

Ministers Indrakaran Reddy, Tummala Nageswara Rao, Nayani Narasimha Reddy, Jupally Krishna Rao, MLA Srinivas Goud, Advisor to government K V Ramanachary, CMO Principal Secretary S Narsing Rao, Secretary (Endowments) Shivshankar, Joint Commissioner Krishnaveni, Special Secretary Bhoopal Reddy and others participated in the meeting.

SUPRAJA