The coronavirus pandemic has curtailed the revenue for the major Gram Panchayat of Parnashala, the famous pilgrimage centre in Dummugudem mandal, casting a shadow on a slew of proposed development works in seven tribal villages in Telangana’s tribal heartland of Bhadrachalam Agency.
Located on the banks of the Godavari, about 33 km away from the famous temple town of Bhadrachalam, Parnashala has a special place on the tourism map of Telangana owing to its sculptural wealth abutting the local temple dedicated to Lord Rama.
The historic site has an impressive range of sculptures depicting some significant episodes of the epic Ramayana particularly Lord Rama’s life in exile at the hermitage in the then Dandakaranya forest region, according to local temple sources.
The local temple remained closed for more than 45 days on account of the coronavirus lockdown till June 7. It was reopened for darshan along with the historic Sri Sitaramachandra Swamy temple in Bhadrachalam on June 8 following the relaxation of the lockdown norms.
Since then, the two temples in Bhadrachalam and Parnashala have been witnessing a relatively low turnout of devotees due to the pandemic scare.
The drastic decline in the number of visitors to Parnashala, the famous pilgrimage-cum-tourist destination, has not only crippled the local temple’s revenue but also curtailed the GP’s additional source of income.
The Gram Panchayat has called for auctions twice in the last fortnight for handing over the operation of the popular boat ride services in the Godavari and also the vehicle parking lot at the temple.
But the auctions could not be held as no one turned up on both occasions forcing the officials to postpone them, sources added.
The GP has utilised the additional funds accrued through auction of the boating operations and vehicle parking lot for construction of CC roads and other development works in Parnashala and other villages under the GP limits in the last financial year, said Parnashala sarpanch Varalakshmi.
“This time, we have proposed to construct bus stops in the tribal villages under the GP limits,” she said, adding that a decision on the next date of auction will be taken in the next general body meeting of the GP, hopefully soon.