NewsTAP Impact: Govt deposits pending salaries of different categories of Archakas on Tuesday

HYDERABAD: The Telangana Government on Tuesday evening deposited salaries for December and January in the accounts of Archakas of different categories of temples in the State.

NewsTAP spoke with different Archaka associations that urged the Government for timely payment of salaries and honorariums in the case of Dhoopa Deepa Naivedhyam (DDN) temple on Monday and filed a report of their travails. Salaries were pending for both the Archakas and other staff members. Approximately 8,600 Archakas are working in different categories of temples in the State.

“The salaries of December and January were deposited as we talk. We are receiving calls from different temples in the State that the salaries were deposited. For some of the priests, the wait was much longer than two months,” Krishnamachary of JAC of Archakas Association told NewsTAP.

However, the salary of January for the Archakas and staff in major temples such as Yadadri, Vemulawada, Bhadrachalam, Basara Saraswathi, and Jogulamba were deposited by February 5 as they are major revenue grossers and don’t depend on grants in aid.