Bammera Pothana’s memorial works fail to gain pace

WARANGAL: Work on the much-trumpeted Saint Poet Bammera Pothana Smrithi Vanam project has all but stopped due to lack of fund allotments from the state government.

Four years past the announcement of the project by Chief Minister K. Chandashekar Rao, only half the works are complete. Local people’s representatives are allegedly not taking steps to speed up the works.

Chandrashekar Rao had laid the foundation stone for the project in memory of saint-poet Pothana in Bammera village of Jangaon district in April 2017. The CM had recited poems of the saint and expressed his special love for Telugu literature.

The CM had lamented, how, in the undivided Andhra Pradesh, poets of the Telangana region were neglected and vowed the TRS government would change the trend.

The Kakatiya Heritage Trust (KHT) has been given the  responsibility for executing the project spread over 4.3 acres, a plot of land that originally belonged to the poet. Trustee and former NIT professor M. Panduranga Rao said there was delay in finalising the designs but the works thereafter progressed at a brisk pace.

“Civic works of the interpretation centre, food court and toilets are complete and the works on the amphitheatre are under way. A 22-foot statue of Bammera Pothana will form the backdrop of the amphitheatre. It will be carved from a single granite block and would weigh about 100 tonnes. A special foundation is being laid that would carry the weight for the statue. The project will be complete within a year,” Rao said.

A convention centre would also form the core of the project. Landscaping and elements inspired by the Kakatiyan architecture style as also normal village lifestyle would grace the memorial.

The Lakkamamba stream which flows beside the Pothana memorial is going through beautification works. A check-dam across the stream is also being erected as part of the project.