Andhra Pradesh to construct 3,000 temples to “preserve Hindu faith”

The government of Andhra Pradesh is undertaking a significant effort to construct temples in every district of the state.

According to Deputy Chief Minister and Endowments Minister Kottu Satyanarayana, this initiative is being carried out in accordance with the instructions of Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, and aims to promote and safeguard the Hindu religion.

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Satyanarayana emphasized that the construction of Hindu temples in the localities of weaker sections is part of this larger effort. This information was conveyed in a statement released on Tuesday.

Sri Vani Trust, which is affiliated with Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams, has provided a funding of ₹ 10 lakh for the establishment of individual temples.

Initially, there were plans to construct 1,330 temples, but now the number has increased to 1,465. Furthermore, upon the request of certain legislators, an additional 200 temples will be erected.

The remaining temples will be constructed with the assistance of various other voluntary organizations, according to the minister.

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As per the minister’s statement, the Endowments Department is actively engaged in constructing 978 temples. Each assistant engineer has been assigned the task of supervising the development of 25 temples.

The government had allocated ₹270 crore from the CGF (Common Good Fund) to restore certain temples and conduct religious ceremonies. So far, ₹238 crore has been disbursed for this purpose.

Likewise, ₹28 crore was allocated for the current financial year to support temple rituals such as doopa, deepa, and naiveydyam at a rate of ₹5,000 per temple. However, only ₹15 crore has been utilized so far.

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Mr. Satyanarayana stated that the doopa deepa program, which had 1,561 temples registered under it in 2019, has now expanded to cover 5,000 temples.