Panchayat Raj and Rural Development Minister Danasari Anasuya (Seethakka) expressed gratitude towards Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy and Deputy Chief Minister M. Bhatti Vikramarka for allocating the highest amount so far by the State government for the Medaram Sammakka-Saralamma (Sarakka) Jatara, held from February 21 to 24. She also extended special appreciation towards Minister for Endowments Konda Surekha for her support.
Addressing media persons prior to the ‘Vana Pravesham’ ritual (entry into the woods) as part of the conclusion of the four-day event at Medaram on Saturday, she thanked the district officials, led by Collector Ila Tripathi, and Superintendent of Police P. Shabarish. She commended their efforts in repairing roads damaged by last year’s flash floods. Describing the jatara as the ‘world’s largest’, she said that preliminary estimations indicated that nearly 1.45 crore people visited Medaram as of Saturday afternoon.
Missing children found
The Minister said 5,090 children were reported missing during the Jatara, of which 5,062 were reunited with their families. The remaining are in safe custody of officials.
Two devotees lost their lives during the jatara. The Minister promised to rectify any shortcoming observed during the fair and improves the future editions. She attributed the huge traffic snarls to the technical issues developed by a number of buses.
