Minister of Tourism, Culture, and Development of the North Eastern Region G. Kishan Reddy has rejected the proposal to designate the Medaram Sammakka-Sarakka (Saralamma) mega jatara as a national festival, stating that there is no established system for such declarations in the country. He emphasised, “As a Union Culture minister, I affirm that there is no existing mechanism for declaring any festival as a national festival”.
Addressing the media following his visit to the Medaram tribal shrine here on Thursday, Mr. Reddy highlighted that the Central government recently allocated ₹3.14 crore for the Medaram jatara. Furthermore, he announced that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay foundation stone for the Sammakka-Sarakka Tribal University in Jakaram, near Mulugu town after the Lok Sabha elections.
Tribal Welfare Minister of Telangana, Danasari Anasuya, also known as Seethakka, Collector Ila Tripathi, and other officials were present.
