Vijayawada: Expressing anguish over the demolition of Kasinayana Jyothi Kshetram in Nallamala forests under Badvel mandal, HRD minister Nara Lokesh promised to reconstruct the ashram with his personal funds. He said it was not proper on the part of forest dept officials to bulldoze Kasinayana annadana kshetram in the guise of forest rules and tiger reserve without making any consultations with the govt.
“The forest dept’s hurried decision has hurt the sentiments of millions of devotees. They should have kept the sentiments of devotees in mind before going ahead to demolish the structures. It is absolutely not acceptable. It has pained me. Action would be taken against those involved in the demolition of the structures. I promise to reconstruct the annadana satram with my own funds as soon as possible,” said Lokesh. Extending his apologies to devotees on behalf of the govt, he said the forest dept should not have bulldozed the structures which were being used to feed the poor.
The forest dept demolished the annadana satram despite strong objections by devotees and Hindu organisations, claiming that they went ahead with the demolition when the organisers failed to produce proper evidence to claim ownership. Deputy chief minister Pawan Kalyan, who looks after the forest dept, has not responded to the issue yet.
