The Hindu : Master plan to develop Kanipakam

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Aug 22, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Andhra Pradesh

Master plan to develop Kanipakam

By M. Rajeev

KANIPAKAM (CHITTOOR Dist) Aug. 21. The age-old Swayambhu Sri Varasiddhi Vinayaka Devasthanam in the district is gearing up for a major facelift in the coming days to provide more amenities to ever-increasing inflow of pilgrims.

The Kanipakam village, which used to house a few thatched huts around the temple till a few years ago and lacked even basic facilities like shelter to pilgrims, will undergo a sea change if the plans of the temple authorities materialise. As part of efforts to turn Kanipakam, about 70 km from Tirupati, into a major tourist attraction, the authorities have finalised a Rs 10-crore master plan for creating the amenities required for pilgrims.

Accordingly, the authorities are planning to construct a 100-room choultry at an estimated cost of Rs 3.25 crores, a kalyana mandapam, new office buildings and develop gardens and other landscaping features to attract more tourists. In this direction, the temple administration had already acquired a 12-acre land and is in the process of mobilising resources for acquiring 22 acres more.

The task, however, is not easy as the temple will have to generate resources from its own earnings. "We are struggling to improve the facilities with our own resources,'' the Kanipakam temple executive officer, C Prem Kumar, told The Hindu. He said the temple which was once largely unknown to the people outside Chittoor district had been receiving huge inflow of pilgrims over the past couple of years. From a couple of hundreds of pilgrims every day a few years ago, the number of pilgrims visiting the temple daily has increased to about 20,000. According to him, the significant increase in the pilgrim traffic could be gauged by the spurt in the offerings made at the temple over the last five years. While the offerings were less than Rs 20 lakhs in 1996-97, they had reached Rs 6.65 crores last year. This was expected to increase during the current year.

``The pilgrim traffic rises substantially during festival days, particularly the Brahmotsavams after the Vinayaka Chaturthi and more than one lakh pilgrims visit the temple during the period,'' Mr Prem Kumar said, adding that the Brahmotsavams this year were scheduled from Aug 31, Vinayaka Chaturthi, to Sept 20.

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