Making mega plans with one crore Shiva Lingams

Desaraju Surya

Hyderabad: No business school in the world could probably find any better business proposition than this one.

Gadde Prasad could well become a lecturer or counselor on money-making -- fat money at that -- in a rather easiest way.

Just read on:

Offering six-inch Siva Lingams at the price of Rs 693 each to one crore devotees, he expects to eventually garner a staggering Rs 693 crore. From being the owner of two petrol filling stations in Krishna and Guntur districts, Gadde Prasad is now styling himself as a messenger of gods. As founder of the Sri Siva Sai Ksethram, he has designed a grandiose plan to develop a Siva temple on a sprawling 100-acre site at Muktyala village on the banks of river Krishna near Jaggaiahpet in Krishna district. The land was bought by the petrol pump owner at a cost of Rs 50,000 per acre many years ago. Apart from 108 temples of various gods and goddesses, the Sri Siva Sai Kshetram will see the installation of one crore Siva Lingams. Each Siva Lingam—of 6x6 inch size—costs a mere Rs 693 but when added up, it becomes Rs 693 crore. Besides the cash-rich Non-Resident Indians (NRIs), ordinary devotees are making a beeline for the Siva Kshetram to get Siva Lingams installed in memory of their departed loved ones and ancestors. “As Rs 693 is not a big amount, many people are booking even three or four Siva Lingams each. It is mostly the NRIs who are showing keen interest in the project,” said a member of the Sri Koti Linga Maha Siva Kshetram Trust that is overseeing the project. Gadde Prasad said over 4,000 people have booked for the Siva Lingams so far. “It may take 10 years to complete the one crore Siva Lingams. We require 1500 workers to make 4,000 lingams a day to complete the target. The lingams would be procured from Varanasi,” he said. Not everyone is convinced. Many apprehend that the man could well be a fly-by-night operator. “Many years ago, a swami collected money for a similar project. But he collected the money and vanished,” said a local resident. Apart from offering the lingams, the trust is focusing on construction of the 108 temples of which about 80 are ready. Each temple costs approximately Rs 2 lakh, and interested persons can get the temple named after a person of their choice by donating Rs 1.25 lakh. “Foundation for the main temple — Panchamukheswara — will be laid on January 28 with the blessings of Swarupananda Saraswati of Vizag Sarada Peetham,” Prasad said. Prasad procured the 100-acre site belonging to a local Siva temple in an open auction and started developing the Koti Linga Maha Siva Kshetram after he built a sprawling temple complex in his native Kanchikacharla village where his mother is a village sarpanch) at a cost of Rs 2 crore which he claims came from his own pockets. Prasad admitted that they had not obtained any permission from the government for the project but claimed that he would be “too glad” to hand over the temples to the endowments department.