The Telangana government has sanctioned ₹1,108.27 crore for a Musi riverfront temple project at Manchirevula, near Hyderabad, combining the development of the Sri Omkareshwara Swamy Temple complex with a new six-lane approach road and wider connectivity improvements.
The project will be built on the Musi riverbank near Narsingi and Kokapet, in Manchirevula village of Gandipet mandal. The government plans to develop the site as Dakshina Kashi, according to details reported by Deccan Chronicle.
Of the sanctioned amount, ₹948.65 crore has been allocated for the eight-acre temple complex, while ₹159.62 crore has been earmarked for the approach and connectivity road. The road will be about 2.5 km long, 100 feet wide and designed with six lanes.
The proposed road will connect the Greyhounds and Young India Police School areas with the temple complex and link it to the Musi riverfront road network. The project is expected to provide improved access to the shrine and support movement around the riverbank development zone.
The temple complex will include a 100-foot statue of Lord Shiva on the Musi River and a 100-foot Galigopuram. The statue is proposed to be surrounded by landscaped parks, while boating and other recreational facilities are also planned. The complex will also include multiple mandapams and a Vimanam, or tower over the sanctum sanctorum, measuring 14 feet each in length and width and 64 feet in height.
The works will also cover the ancient Veerabhadra Swamy temple and the nearby Machileshwara temple. The latter is believed to be more than 1,400 years old. The municipal administration and urban development department has said that preservation of the heritage structures will receive priority during the development works.
The Musi Riverfront Development Corporation Limited has designed the project. The state government has constituted a technical committee to guide the development of the Sri Omkareshwara Swamy Temple and oversee the designs, Detailed Project Reports and tenders.
The committee will be chaired by the roads and buildings engineer-in-chief, with the public health engineer-in-chief as co-chairman and the MRDCL chief engineer as convener. Its members will include the endowments chief engineer, a temple architecture expert and the additional secretary of the finance department.
The allocation places a large religious and public-realm project within the wider transformation of the Musi riverbanks. Apart from the temple at Manchirevula, a mosque near Puranapul, a gurdwara at Gowliguda and a church at Nagole have also been proposed along the riverbanks.
The next stages will involve technical guidance, preparation and review of project reports, design finalisation and tendering under the committee constituted by the state government.
