The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Minister reviews arrangements for Bonalu

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Jul 08, 2006

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Minister reviews arrangements for Bonalu

Staff Reporter

Temple committees discontented over pace of ongoing civic and sanitation works

AUSPICIOUS BEGINNING: Women celebrating `Tholi Ekadasi' which is the first festival of the year, followed by `Bonalu', in Hyderabad on Friday. -- PHOTO: K. Ramesh Babu

HYDERABAD: People's representatives and temple committees in the twin cities have expressed discontent over the pace of ongoing civic and sanitation works taken up for the coming Bonalu festival.

Though Bonalu is the biggest festival for people of the twin cities, the vicinity of majority of 126 temples including Secunderabad Ujjaini Mahankali temple, Lal Darwaza and Charminar temples where Bonalu festival would be celebrated was in a deplorable state, they said at a meeting convened by District Incharge Minister Mohammad Ali Shabbir on Friday.

Amenities

While Municipal Commissioner Sanjay Jaju stated that Rs.1.5 crores was being spent for providing civic and other amenities for Bonalu, the MLAs however felt there was no evidence of that at the ground level.

Officials from various departments apprised the members of arrangements being made for regular drinking water supply, street lights, deployment of medical teams, cultural programmes in important temples, continuous power supply during the festival.

Police Commissioner A.K.Mohanty said bandobust arrangements would be made near and inside the temples and temple routes would be under police surveillance.

An integrated control room would also be set up to attend to any requirement.

Meanwhile the MLAs and corporators criticised the Government for convening the meeting just a week before commencement of Bonalu.

MLAs P.Janardhan Reddy, T. Padma Rao, Nayani Narsimha Reddy, Malreddy Ranga Reddy and G. Kishen Reddy said roads in the vicinity of temple and in the procession routes were dug up for various works and had not been restored. The Collector Chandravadan announced that July 17 and 24 would be declared holiday for schools in Secunderabad and Hyderabad areas respectively.

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