Kuchipudi Natyaramam Chairman K. Anand on Friday performed bhumi puja for the Natya Pushkarini to be developed on the nearly 3.3 acres of Vedantam pond here. Adjacent to the renowned Kuchipudi village temple, the Pushkarini would be developed as a part of the proposed Kuchipudi Natyaramam, a Rs. 100 crore cultural project, by the early December.

Speaking to reporters, Mr. Anand said the State government had initially sanctioned Rs. 12 crore for beautification and modernisation of the Pushkarini.

“The Pushkarini will become one of the tourism attractions in the district. A statue of Sri Siddhendra Yogi will be installed in the middle of the pond, apart from developing a theme park on the banks of the pond,” said Mr. Anand.

The first phase of the Pushkarini works worth of Rs. 1.8 crore was aimed at construction of stairs and ground leveling. Mr. Anand added that plans were afoot to conduct a Kuchipudi performance with one thousand dancers on the Pushkarini in December.

However, the dancers from different parts of the State would be involved in the event. Officials from AP Tourism Department, Capital Region Development Authority, Vijayawada and local leaders were also present at the bhumi puja.

The State government was yet to initiate measures to identify and acquire the proposed 100 acres of land in and around the Kuchipudi village for the Natyaramam project.

Since there was stiff resistance from the farming community to part their land for the cultural project, the government was mulling over speeding up the project. Krishna District Collector Babu A. has confirmed to higher officials about lack of availability of government land to acquire for the Natyaramam in and around Kuchipudi village.

The Pushkarini will become one of the tourism attractions in the district. A statue of Sri Siddhendra Yogi will be installed in the middle of the pond.

K. Anand,

Chairman,

Kuchipudi Natyaramam