TS government gives big push to Kakatiya festival

Hyderabad: IT minister K.T. Rama Rao on Tuesday said that the state government will celebrate the legacy and glories of Kakatiya rulers in a week-long festival, titled ‘Kakatiya Vaibhava Saptaham’, from July 7.

Rao released a brochure for the event along with ministers Srinivas Goud and Satyavathi Rathod at his camp office in Begumpet.

Directing officials to engage current generations and design programmes to explain the history of Kakatiyas to posterity, Rao also asked officials to involve those acquainted with history in the event.

Calling for the event to be widely publicised, he said the department of culture will release Rs 50 lakh for the event.

An heir to Kakatiya king Bhanj Deo will inaugurate the event, after a welcome dance by 111 Perini dance artists. Other traditional performances include Oggu Dolu, officials said.

A highlight of the festivities is a programme at Chandupatla, where a rock edict throws light on the death of Rudrama Devi, a female monarch of the Kakatiya era. Other events will be organised at Kakatiya-era structures in the Warangal district.

The Kakatiya dynasty ruled the region comprising present-day Telangana and Andhra Pradesh from the 12th to 14th centuries, with Warangal as the capital.

The distinct style of Kakatiya-era architecture can be spotted at the Thousand Pillar Temple and Ramappa Temple, near Warangal.

Besides, irrigation tanks constructed during the Kakatiya rules are in use currently.

Following the formation of Telangana state in 2014, the TRS government launched the ‘Mission Kakatiya’ programme to restore around 50,000 minor irrigation tanks that were constructed during the Kakatiya-era to boost groundwater levels.