Latest news with #VTrinadhaRao
Hans India
27-05-2025
- General
- Hans India
Trinadha Rao takes charge as EO
Visakhapatnam: After a long leave, Sri Varaha Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Devasthanam Executive Officer V Trinadha Rao took charge from Deputy Commissioner of Endowments N Sujatha. V Trinadha Rao, who was appointed as the EO of the temple, went on a three-month-long leave. He is scheduled to join duty on June 1. Deputy Commissioner of Endowments N. Sujatha took charge as Executive Officer (full additional charge) of Sri Varaha Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Devasthanam on May 11. Speaking to the media here on Monday, the EO mentioned that extensive arrangements are being made for the convenience of devotees who participate in Swathi Homam performed on June 8. Earlier, the EO reviewed the arrangements for Swathi Homam with the heads of various departments. Assistant executive officer N Anand Kumar, officials Pilla Srinivasa Rao and GVSK Prasad were present.
Hans India
14-05-2025
- General
- Hans India
Ancient temple yearns for a full-fledged EO
Visakhapatnam: afull-fledged Executive Officer (EO) for Simhachalam Devasthanam, one of the ancient temples in the country, is not getting much attention from the state government. For the past few years, no Executive Officer served Simhachalam Devasthanam consecutively for a long time. This has not only hindered development of the temple but also resulted in failure in organising major annual festivals. Absence of full-fledged EO is very evident during annual festivals, like 'kalyanotsavam' and the recently-concluded 'Chandanotsavam'. Devotees from across the country arrive at Simhachalam to view Sri Varaha Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy's 'nijaroopa' darshan on Chandanotsavam day. In order to make the annual events a grand success, experienced officers play a crucial role to host festivals like Chandanotsavam incident-free. Even as V Trinadha Rao was given full additional charge as Executive Officer in 2023, he has no prior experience in organising festivals like Chandanotsavam. Simultaneously, he is also serving as the EO of Dwaraka Tirumala Devasthanam. The dual role played by most EOs hinders a chance to pay complete attention to Simhachalam. Even earlier, the EOs appointed continued shuttling between other major temples of the state, taking additional charge. Eventually, focusing on a single temple has become a challenging task. As a result, the annual Chandanotsavam could not be organised without failures. The Simhahalam Devasthanam, comprising approximately 9,000 acres of land, earns crores of funds through donors and hundi every month. A number of temples are affiliated to Simhachalam and the Devasthanam has to maintain them. Protecting the temple lands is also a big challenge for the officials of the Devasthanam as it is tangled in over 10,000 encroachments spreading across 'pancha gramalu'. As no Executive Officer is continuing for long, the EO of the temple is neither able to focus on resolving the long pending issues nor gaining a command over the staff and organising festivals. From 2019, only one officer MV Suryakala could discharge her duties for over a year at the Devasthanam from March, 2021 to August, 2022. This was reflected in the peaceful conduct of 'Chandanotsavam' in 2022. After getting transferred, K Ramachandra Mohan left the Devasthanam in August, 2019. He was succeeded by M Venkateswara Rao who could only continue for 10 months as an EO. Later, D Brahmaramba served as full additional charge (FAC) for three months. She was replaced by V Trinadha Rao. So far, Trinadha Rao has been reappointed as an EO four times since 2020. After his transfer, D Venkateswara Rao rendered service as FAC for three months. Again, MV Suryakala continued for 17 months as an EO. After her transfer, Brahmaramba was roped in as EO. Within a month, she was again replaced by V Trinadha Rao as FAC. In 2025, Trinadha Rao went on a long leave ahead of Chandanotsavam and K Subbarao appointed as an EO. It is during his tenure, the tragic wall collapse incident took place at the shrine on Chandanotsavam day, claiming seven lives, injuring few others. Based on the report submitted by the three-member committee, the EO was suspended and Deputy Commissioner of Endowments Sujatha was appointed as the FAC. However, there is a less chance for her to serve the temple for long. For the past five years, the Executive Officers of the Devasthanam have been witnessing transfers within a short span of time due to various reasons. Given the current scenario, the demand for appointing an experienced and capable Executive Officer has increased so that the ancient temple not only sees signs of development but also witnesses major festivals without any hassle.
Hans India
02-05-2025
- Politics
- Hans India
Who will take the blame for Simhachalam mishap?
Visakhapatnam: Several flaws come to the fore in the wall collapse incident that took place at Simhachalam shrine during 'Chandanotsavam.' The contractor who built the wall in a short span, the engineering officials who supervised the work in progress, the officials who oversaw the arrangements, among others, are being probed by a three-member committee constituted by the state government for the purpose. Earlier, V Trinadha Rao was appointed as Executive Officer (EO) of Sri Varaha Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Devasthanam by the NDA government. However, two months before the Chandanotsavam festival, he went on a long leave. Subsequently, K Subba Rao was appointed as in-charge EO of the Devasthanam. Also, D Bhramaramba was appointed as festival special officer by the state government. Despite being experienced in organising temple festivals, she refused to take the responsibility assigned to her, citing health reasons. Following which, Joint Commissioner of Endowments NVSN Murthy was appointed as the festival special officer. What draws the attention is that Subba Rao is inexperienced in hosting temple festivals, while the chief festival officer too has no prior experience in organising Chandanotsavam. As a result, the major responsibility rested on Endowments Commissioner K Rama Chandra Mohan and district officials. It is quite apparent that the officials focused largely on facilitating VVIPs' darshan. The 'Chandanotsavam 2025' reflects how officials miserably failed in assessing the impact of a natural calamity and evaluating its effect on the devotees who were expected to congregate in large numbers. It is certainly not unusual to rain during Chandanotsavam. But what went beyond the officials' purview was the intensity of the downpour coupled with gales that led to the collapse of the rain-soaked wall. To undo the mistakes committed during earlier editions, the state government involved five ministers to closely monitor the arrangements of the festival a month before Chandanotsavam. The question that lingers is what would have gone wrong despite the five ministers examining the festival arrangements from close quarters, convening meetings from time to time. Even earlier, the government was quick to form committees to investigate the incidents. Eventually, the EOs were held responsible and at the most they along with other officials would be transferred to other places. However, the Chandanotsavam this year not only failed in several aspects but also claimed seven lives. It certainly calls for a serious scrutiny so that such incidents do not recur in future. From the contractor who built the wall in haste to the supervisors who monitored the exercise, there are several who should be made accountable for the tragic incident. As days pass, anxiety brews over who would be held accountable for the Simhachalam wall collapse incident. In the meantime, YSRCP MLC Botcha Satyanarayana termed the incident as nothing but 'government murders'. He called for strict action against all those who are accountable for the wall collapse incident. With the NDA government seeking a preliminary report from a three-member committee constituted for the purpose, the investigation is taking place on a fast-track mode.
