Centre sanctions ₹100 crore grant for development of Saundatti

Infrastructure facilities to be developed

The Union government has sanctioned a ₹100 crore grant for the development of infrastructure facilities at Saundatti Yallamma temple and in the temple town, Jagadish Shettar, MP, said in Belagavi on Friday.

Mr. Shettar said that a few days ago, he had met Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Union Tourism Minister, with a request for funds for Saundatti’s development and that the latter had accepted the demand.

This grant has been sanctioned by the Union Tourism Department under the scheme ‘Approval of capital expenditure under part -3 (Development of iconic tourist centres of global scale) of the scheme of special assistance to States for capital investment-2024-25’. The Renuka Yellamma Devi Temple is one of the two temples selected in Karnataka, said the release. He thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Mr. Shekhawat.

Mr. Shettar said he had also made a request to Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav, that a new line has to be laid between Dharwad and Lokapur, to enable pilgrims to take a train to Saundatti.

“Saundatti lies between the two stations and rail connectivity will help pilgrims. A preliminary survey was done in 2019, but the project was not taken up as it was not feasible due to low passenger load. However, I have submitted data to show that many pilgrims visited Saundatti in the last year and have asked him to take up the line,” he said.

Published - November 29, 2024 08:48 pm IST