A.P. CM takes part in Gangamma temple jatara in Kuppam, offers silk vastrams to deity
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and his wife Nara Bhuvaneswari participated in the annual jatara at Sri Prasanna Tirupati Gangamma temple in Kuppam on Wednesday.
The couple landed at the grounds of Dravidian University on the Kuppam outskirts by helicopter from Bengaluru. Mr. Naidu was accorded a warm welcome by the officials, people of Kuppam Assembly constituency and the TDP cadres.
Mr. Naidu reached the Gangamma temple, where the temple priests welcomed him with a traditional Poornakumbham. He offered prayers and presented silk garments (pattu vastrams) to the presiding deity.
Mr. Naidu exchanged pleasantries with the TDP cadres before leaving for Bengaluru airport from the helipad. District Collector Sumit Kumar, SP Manikanta Chandolu, and senior TDP leaders were present.
The Kuppam Jatara is a major festival of Sri Prasanna Tirupati Gangamma, considered the sister of Lord Venkateswara. The history of the jatara dates back to the 17th century and the festival has been receiving the patronage of the rulers of Telugu, Kannada and Tamil dynasties, followed by the British Raj.
On Tuesday evening, a palanquin carrying the idol's head was taken out in a grand procession from Pedda Bavi at Pathapeta to the main temple.
The procession will continue for over 24 hours, covering all wards in the Kuppam municipality. An estimated 3 lakh people from Kuppam, and neighbouring Tamil Nadu and Karnataka thronged the venue during the festival.
Till Wednesday noon, thousands of villagers offered prayers to the processional deity. The festival was concluded with the Viswaroopa Darshan of the Goddess on Wednesday.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
India Gazette
43 minutes ago
- India Gazette
SC seeks Karnataka govt's response to plea over non-release of 'Thug Life' in State theatres
New Delhi [India], June 13 (ANI): The Supreme Court on Friday sought the Karnataka government's response to a plea seeking protection from threats against the screening of Kamal Haasan's film 'Thug Life'. Considering the urgency of the matter, a bench of Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and Manmohan issued notices to the Karnataka government, the State police, Raaj Kamal Films International Private Limited and the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce (KFCC) seeking their responses to the plea. During the hearing, the counsel appearing for the petitioner submitted that no action has been taken by the state authorities in Karnataka despite violent threats being issued against linguistic minorities in the State. 'No FIR has been registered. They have joined hands with extremist elements', advocate A Velan stated. After hearing the matter, the Court sought the responses of the aforesaid authorities and listed the matter to be heard next week. On Monday, the top court had refused to urgently hear Reddy's plea and had asked the petitioner to approach the concerned High Court. Subsequently, the matter was listed before the top court to be heard today (Friday). During the hearing on Monday, counsel appearing for the petitioner stated that a law-and-order situation is arising in the State, as cinema halls are receiving threats from certain fringe elements. Further, the counsel had stated that threats are being issued that the theatres will be set on fire. Hence, theatres in the State sought protection from the top court. The issue arose over an alleged statement recently made by actor Kamal Hassan, which said 'Kannada was born out of Tamil'. As per the petitioners' plea, there is an effective ban on the CBFC-certified film Thug Life in Karnataka, which is caused by violent threats from private groups, and the state authorities have failed to take action in this regard. The plea argued that such inaction violates the fundamental right to freedom of speech and expression under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution. This right applies not only to filmmakers but also to the public who want to view films. The top court will hear the matter next week. (ANI)
The Print
2 hours ago
- The Print
Naidu rolls out ‘Thalliki Vandanam', expanding Jagan's Amma Vodi scheme. 24 lakh more students covered
Though Naidu's Thalliki Vandanam (meaning 'salutation to mother' in Telugu) promise was inspired and a recreation of YSRCP chief Jagan Mohan Reddy's Amma Vodi (mother's lap) scheme, it is an upgrade, expanding the ambit and number of beneficiaries of the aid. 'Thalliki Vandanam' was one of the 'Super Six' guarantees in the manifesto of the Telugu Desam Party-Jana Sena Party (TDP-JSP), which helped the combine, in alliance with the BJP, win the state elections in a landslide victory against the YSR Congress Party last year. Hyderabad: Starting its second year in power in Andhra Pradesh, the Chandrababu Naidu government has initiated disbursal of the much-awaited Rs 15,000 financial assistance per annum per child to 42.69 lakh eligible mothers sending their children to school. Unlike Amma Vodi assistance limited to one child per mother during Jagan's rule, Thalliki Vandanam aid is being given regardless of the number of school-going children in an eligible family. 'Our promise was that no matter how many children a family has, every student would receive Thalliki Vandanam support, and today we have kept our word, as the NDA (National Democratic Alliance) government marks its first year,' Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu told reporters at the first anniversary event Thursday in Amaravati. Thus, while 42.61 lakh students were covered earlier under Jagan's scheme, the coverage now is 67.27 lakh—an increase of 24.66 lakh beneficiaries. Though an electoral assurance, Thalliki Vandanam financial aid to all children in a family under the welfare programme is seen as part of Naidu's mission to maintain or improve the demographic dividend, even as fertility rates dip in Andhra Pradesh. Of the 67.27 lakh beneficiaries, 29.82 lakh are from Backward Classes, 11.76 lakh Scheduled Castes, 4.26 lakh Scheduled Tribes, 66,500 from minority communities, and 8.44 lakh from 'Economically Backward Classes'. 'This is a step toward demographic equity,' Naidu said, noting that there are 18,55,760 families with one child, 29,10,644 with two, 6,32,052 with three, and 80,212 with four children. 'Across South India, population is declining. Once, parents with more than two children were disqualified from contesting in local body elections. Now, with fewer than two children becoming common, such disqualifications have become superfluous,' Naidu added. Both Amma Vodi and Thalliki Vandanam are direct benefit transfer (DBT) schemes, in which funds are credited directly to the accounts of mothers or recognised guardians of children. However, much like under Jagan, Rs 2,000 out of every Rs 15,000 per student will be deducted at source from the beneficiary and utilised for the overall development of the education ecosystem, i.e. towards schools infra maintenance, hygiene/sanitation, etc. 'While the YRSCP disbursed Rs 5,540 crore annually to beneficiaries, we are allocating Rs 8,745 crore, which is Rs 3,205 crore more,' said Naidu, as all necessary government orders were issued from the school education department Thursday, the first anniversary of his fourth term in office. Overall, under the scheme, Rs 10,091 crore will be spent this year, of which Rs 1,346 crore will go towards improving school infrastructure. Also Read: Karnataka protests 'ban' on its Totapuri mangoes entering AP, Naidu govt says 'rescue your own farmers' Thalliki Vandanam Thalliki Vandanam was launched to incentivise underprivileged parents to send their children for formal education, and focuses on making school education more accessible and inclusive, as well as improve learning outcomes. The scheme is applicable from Classes I to XII (i.e., including intermediate education) in all recognised government, private aided and private unaided schools and junior colleges, including residential institutions, in Andhra Pradesh from the 2025-26 academic year. Apart from the weak financial status of families, eligibility criteria include 75 percent attendance in the previous academic year. The scheme was not implemented in the previous academic year, though, prompting YSRCP to accuse Naidu of reneging on his 'Super Six' promises in the first year of governance itself. On Thursday, YSRCP MLA Tatiparthi Chandrasekhar termed the ruling coalition's one year governance as authoritarian and deceptive. Speaking to reporters at YSRCP central office at Tadepalli, Tatiparthi accused Naidu of 'betraying' Andhra Pradesh's people with unfulfilled 'Super Six' promises. 'Naidu's rule is a saga of deceit and broken promises.' He said the Thalliki Vandanam scheme covered only 67.27 lakh of 87.41 lakh eligible mothers, 'short-changing them by Rs 5,000 crore'. He also disapproved of the deduction of Rs 2,000 at source. (Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui) Also Read: 'Freeze seats or increase proportionately': Andhra CM Naidu limits Modi govt's delimitation options
NDTV
2 hours ago
- NDTV
Andhra Pradesh Launches Scheme Offering Rs 15,000 Annual Aid per School Child
The TDP-led NDA government in Andhra Pradesh has launched 'Talliki Vandanam' scheme where Rs 15,000 will be given annually to every school-going child in a household, a top official said on Friday. 'Talliki Vandanam' is one of the 'Super Six' set of welfare promises made by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu in the run-up to the 2024 polls. "The government has issued guidelines for the implementation of the 'Talliki Vandanam' scheme, a key initiative designed to empower mothers/guardians across the state, by extending financial assistance of Rs 15,000 per annum per child to every eligible mother/guardian," said Kona Sasidhar, secretary to government in an order. Irrespective of the number of children in a household who attend school from Class I to intermediate, the scheme will be extended to all eligible households. Likewise, the government will also take into account the expected eligible enrollments into Class I and junior intermediate for this scheme, it said. Over 67 lakh students and 43 lakh mothers will benefit from the 'Talliki Vandanam' scheme. Out of Rs 15,000 per annum, Rs 2,000 will be deducted at source for the overall development of educational ecosystem in the state, involving maintenance, hygiene and sanitation. According to the secretary, this scheme focuses on making school education more accessible and inclusive with a commitment to provide equal opportunities and improve learning outcomes. "The scheme empowers mothers to be actively involved in their children's schooling from Class I to Class XII, while recognising their pivotal role in shaping educational progress," he said. The benefits of this scheme will be extended to all the eligible children, Sasidhar said, adding that government, private aided and private unaided schools and junior colleges will be covered. The southern state has set a timeframe between June 12 and July 5 to complete the entire disbursal and implementation of the scheme. Dubbed as the "mother of all welfare schemes" by the government, 'Tallki Vandanam' is also aimed at encouraging families to have more children as part of Naidu's focus on addressing a plummeting population and 'demographic management'.
