Locals raise objections to Harikrishna’s memorial at Mahaprasthanam

HYDERABAD: The land allocated for building a memorial for former Rajya Sabha MP and actor Nandamuri Harikrishna in the Mahaprasthanam Crematorium at Jubilee Hills seems to have run into trouble. With the local community people raising objections to the allocation of land in the crematorium, revenue department officials have kept the decision on land allotment pending.

The crematorium located near Whisper Valley at Jubilee Hills has been developed on 3.7 acres of land at a cost of `3 crore, under the Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode. The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) and Phoenix Foundation together maintain the Mahaprasthanam.

The department officials have already identified and conducted a survey of the area where the proposed memorial was to be come up. K Chandrakala, revenue divisional officer, Ranga Reddy district, told Express that as per the orders, she had surveyed 450 yards of land for the construction of the memorial. “But since the society members are objecting to the construction and have even submitted representations to revenue, the decision on land allotment is currently pending,” she said.

Meanwhile, people are criticising the government for allocating 450 yards of prime land at the crematorium for the actor’s memorial. Agitated over the issue, they have submitted one representation each to the revenue department and the district collector.  

“Last month when my father’s last rites were conducted  at the Mahaprasthanam, we were told that if we wanted, we could construct a memorial but later they backtracked. However, we did not raise any objections. When the common man cannot have a memorial, why should there be one for Harikrishna?” rued C Suresh Kumar Yadav, a resident of Dargah.

Another resident, N Ashok Kumar questioned the rationale behind allocating land for the memorial in a public crematorium when it can be done at the Telugu Film industry in Manikonda since he was a member of Tollywood fraternity.  

“Why is government keen on allocating land here,” he said.