Ponguleti unveils plan for developing Nelakondapalli stupa as Buddhist tourism hub | Hyderabad News

Hyderabad: Revenue and housing minister Ponguleti Srinivasa Reddy on Monday announced plans to develop the 3rd-century Buddhist stupa at Nelakondapalli in Palair constituency into an international Buddhist tourism hub, with a focus on restoring the historic monument and creating tourism infrastructure.The minister laid the foundation for various development works aimed at preserving the Buddhist site and improving facilities in the surrounding areas. He said the stupa, discovered around 50 years ago, is one of the largest Buddhist stupas in the country.He said previous govts had initiated development works in the area but failed to complete them. Archaeological excavations within a 1.5-km radius of the stupa had unearthed several ancient artefacts. However, owing to the lack of local facilities for their preservation, the artefacts were shifted to a museum in Hyderabad.On the directions of chief minister A Revanth Reddy, a meeting would be organised with Buddhist representatives from across the world, local community members, experts in Buddhist monuments and concerned officials to discuss the future development of the historic site, he said.During his visit to the Palair constituency, the minister also announced that all pending bills under the Indiramma housing scheme across Telangana would be credited directly into beneficiaries’ bank accounts within 10 days.At Rythu Vedika in Nelakondapalli, Srinivasa Reddy distributed sanction letters to beneficiaries under the second phase of the Indiramma housing scheme in the mandal. Referring to the rainfall deficit caused by the El Niño effect, the minister expressed concern over the challenges facing farmers due to possible shortages of electricity and water. He advised farmers against taking up a second crop to avoid potential financial losses.Earlier, the minister laid the foundation for a 2.5-km bituminous road connecting Anasagaram and Pammi in Nelakondapalli mandal at an estimated cost of Rs. 2.80 crore. He subsequently inaugurated a newly constructed gram panchayat office building at Gorillapadu Thanda in Kusumanchi mandal.He also urged Congress workers to intensify voter registration to ensure party candidate Ramreddy Sarvotham Reddy’s victory with a majority of first-preference votes in the Warangal-Khammam-Nalgonda graduate MLC election.Addressing a preparatory meeting in the Palair constituency, he called for registering eligible graduates. He urged party workers to counter BRS and BJP propaganda blaming Congress for drought conditions caused by El Niño. Srinivasa Reddy also called for public awareness about El Niño and urged people to participate in the upcoming protest against voter name deletions as part of SIR, in New Delhi on Nov 1.