Govt hikes archaka’s salaries, temple upkeep aid

The Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao has considered a big hike in the ‘Dhoopa Deepa Naivedyam’ aid which includes the salary of the archakas.

Hyderabad: The Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao has considered a big hike in the ‘Dhoopa Deepa Naivedyam’ aid which includes the salary of the archakas. The government issued an order on Tuesday enhancing the aid from Rs 6000 to Rs 10,000 per month.

The commissioner of Endowments was directed to take necessary action to implement the order. As per the GO (No 128, Rs 6000 of the amount will go towards the honorarium of the archakas and Rs 4000 towards the ‘Dhoopa Deepa Naivedyam’ expenses. Earlier the government was paying Rs 6000 towards this aid of which Rs 4000 was paid to archakas as honorarium and Rs 2000 towards the Dhoopa Deepa Naivedyam expenses. The aid was a mere Rs 2500 per month in the undivided state. It was enhanced first time by the Chief Minister on June 9, 2015.

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The Chief Minister announced the second hike during the inauguration of the Viprahita Bhamhana Sankshema Bhavan at Gopanpalli on May 31.

The Commissioner of Endowments made a request to the Chief Minister to enhance the Dhoopa Deepa Naivedyam Aid from Rs 6000 to Rs 10,000 on June 7. The hike would give a big relief for nearly 4,800 archakas in temples across Telangana.