Srisailam master plan to have ultramodern facilities for pilgrims

Kurnool:  The master plan for development of Srisailam, keeping in view the expansion needs over the next 25 years, is underway.

New Delhi-based Aecom project planners have arrived to assess the needs of the temple town, said Sri Mallikarjuna Brahmaramba Swamy temple’s executive officer K.S. Rama Rao. He said the plan is in its preliminary stage and involves widening of roads, increasing accommodation, pilgrims' convenience outlets and rationalising queuing systems.

He said a master plan was developed in the year 2013 but could not be taken up due to various hiccups. One of the constraining factors was lack of free accommodation for pilgrims and that need is being addressed now. We are also planning donor cottages, he said.

In the digital era, robust systems for e-ticketing and seamless darshan facilities are also being worked out, he said. Another proposal is to provide glider paths on the queue complex to help the old and differently-abled pilgrims to have a quick and happy darshan, he said.

Further, accommodation complexes and shopping malls and widening of the existing roads besides developing infrastructure in Srisailam temple town expecting more devotees to turn up is on the cards, he added. A high-security zone within the temple complex and a commercial complex for locating shops away from the security zone would also be part of the development activity. The EO further said that queue complex, dormitories, choultries, public utilities, open theatre for cultural activities will be constructed as per needful. They will develop Srisailam temple on the lines of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam to attract more devotees from various states, stated the executive officer.