Ganta faults Simhachalam temple officials for shed collapse ahead of ‘Giri Pradakshina'

The Hindu

6 days ago

Bheemunipatnam MLA Ganta Srinivasa Rao on Monday (July 7) opined that officials of Sri Varaha Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple at Simhachalam should own responsibility for the collapse of a shed under construction at Simhachalam on Saturday.
The MLA was visiting the site on Monday. Expressing disappointment at the temple officials for failing to supervise the work and trying to blame the contractor for the collapse, he said the annual festivals of 'Chandanotsavam' and 'Giri Pradakshina' draw thousands of devotees to the temple every year. A wall under construction on the Simhachalam Hill collapsed during the Chandanotsavam in April this year, causing the death of seven devotees.
The engineering officials, who were supposed to supervise the work of the contractor, had shirked their responsibility and squarely put the blame on the contractor for the wall collapse. Now, the collapse of the shed, being constructed at the foothill for devotees to rest after the 32-km trek during the 'Giri Pradakshina', scheduled for July 9, was an indication of the negligence of the officials.
Mr. Srinivasa Rao said the damage would have been unprecedented had the accident occurred on the day of Giri Pradakshina, as an estimated five lakh devotees were expected to participate in the festival. He said the feasibility of constructing a 'permanent shed' at the 'Tholi Pavancha' (first step lead to the hill) would be studied to avoid construction of temporary shed every year.
Corporator PV Narasimham was present.
Door-to-door survey
The MLA conducted a door-to-door survey at Kapudibba at 98th Ward of GVMC and interacted with the householders as part of 'Suparipalanalo Mundadugu' programme of the government. He asked them whether they were receiving the welfare schemes of the government and assured them that TDR bonds would soon be issued to those whose lands were acquired for the BRTS roads in the past. He said he had already apprised Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and Minister for Municipal Administration P. Narayana in this regard.
The TDR bonds would be issued once the five-member committee, appointed by the government, gives its report on the issue. He added that a total of 12,149 constructions were regularised in the first phase as part of providing a solution to the 'pancha gramalu' problem. A solution would be worked out for the vacant land, farm land and other land under 'pancha gramalu' (Simhachalam devasthanam lands).