Hyderabad, April 20 : Telangana Chief Minister, A. Revanth Reddy, on Monday laid the foundation stone for the development works of the Sri Kaleshwara Mukteshwara Temple at Kaleshwaram in Jayashankar Bhupalapally district. The development works of the temple are being taken up at a cost of â?¹198 crore.

Chief Minister Revanth Reddy also laid the foundation stone for the Kaleshwaram Bus Station.

Ministers Uttam Kumar Reddy, Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy, Duddilla Sridhar Babu, Ponnam Prabhakar, Adluri Laxman Kumar, MP Gaddam Vamshi Krishna, and others were present.

In May last year, the Chief Minister Reddy had announced that the state government will allocate Rs 200 crore for the development of the Kaleshwaram temple as a major tourist destination.

He had promised to release the funds through the green channel.

On Monday, Chief Minister Reddy reached Kaleshwaram by a helicopter from Hyderabad and after performing puja at the temple and participating in the groundbreaking ceremony for the temple's development works, he visited Annaram barrage, a part of the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project.

Irrigation Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy, Revenue Minister P. Srinivas Reddy, National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA) Chairman Anil Jain and senior officials accompanied the Chief Minister.

Chief Minister Reddy, along with ministers and senior officials, inspected the ongoing geotechnical, geophysical, and GPR surveys â?? as well as sample collection activities â?? being conducted using bore rigs at piers 20, 21, and 22 of the Medigadda barrage.

The government plans to collect samples using 520 bore rigs and send them to the Central Water and Power Research Station (CWPRS).

Following laboratory testing at the facility, a comprehensive understanding regarding the extent of the damage to the barrage is expected to emerge.

Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy said last week that the Chief Minister Reddy-government will undertake the repair and restoration of three barrages, part of the Kaleshwaram project, scientifically and transparently.

He met NDSA Chairman Anil Jain in Delhi on April 17 and discussed the state government's action plan for the repair and restoration of the Medigadda, Annaram, and Sundilla barrages.

The minister explained the precautionary measures the government is taking to prevent past errors from being repeated.

The NDSA Chairman expressed satisfaction with the manner in which comprehensive testing is currently being conducted under the supervision of experts.

/IANS