Swaminarayan temple project gathers dust

  • | Wednesday | 21st February, 2018

Visakhapatnam: The idea of setting up a Swaminarayan temple in the city was mooted over three years ago. The main aim behind the project was to give a boost to pilgrimage or temple tourism in the city of Vizag in particular and the state in general. However, the project has not made any headway so far.During the CII-Partnership Summit in 2017, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the state government and the temple trust authorities. Only after the land is allotted, we can provide infrastructural and other help for developing the temple as a tourist attraction. Due to the land allotment issue, the project could not make any headway so far.”

Visakhapatnam: The idea of setting up a Swaminarayan temple in the city was mooted over three years ago. The main aim behind the project was to give a boost to pilgrimage or temple tourism in the city of Vizag in particular and the state in general. However, the project has not made any headway so far.During the CII-Partnership Summit in 2017, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the state government and the temple trust authorities. The proposed land allocated for the temple kept shifting from Simhachalam to Thotlakonda to Yendada but in reality, the land allotment process never took place, according to people in the know of things. A detailed project report (DPR) was also submitted to the tourism department by the temple trust, but it continues to gather dust.Natwarlal Narsi Rathod, chairman of Shri Swaminarayan Service Trust, said: “After the MoU was signed with the AP government in January 2017, we were asked to submit a DPR, which we did six months ago. The estimated cost of constructing the temple complex on a 30-acre land would be around Rs 150 crore.”“Spiritual, humanitarian and cultural activities would be set up as part of the complex. But the land has not been sanctioned yet. Initially, we were told that it would come up somewhere near Simhachalam. Later we were told it would be Thotlakonda, then Yendada, but none of these have materialised. We are planning to meet the chief minister during the CII summit this year and convey to him about the stuck-up project,” Rathod added.When asked about the status of the project, MD of AP Tourism Development Corporation (APTDC) Himanshu Shukla said, “We cannot allot land for religious tourism purpose. It has to be done by the endowments department. Only after the land is allotted, we can provide infrastructural and other help for developing the temple as a tourist attraction. Due to the land allotment issue, the project could not make any headway so far.”

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