7 killed in AP temple wall collapse
Visakhapatnam: Seven devotees were killed and one injured after a wall collapsed near the queue lines at the famous Simhachalam temple in the Eastern Ghats, Visakhapatnam, early on Wednesday morning. The dead included four members of the same family.
The temple's hereditary trustee, former Union minister Pusapati Ashok Gajapati Raju, and his family were in the temple offering prayers when tragedy struck but they suffered no harm.
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Thousands of devotees from across Andhra Pradesh had gathered at the temple dedicated to Lord Varaha Narasimha Swamy to witness the annual Chandanotsavam. All through the year the idol is covered in sandal paste, and only during Chandanotsavam does the deity give darshan in His original form, attracting thousands of devotees.
Tragedy struck between 3 am and 3.15 am when a newly built wall, meant to act as a barrier against landslides, collapsed on devotees standing in queues. The 20 feet long and 2.5 feet wide wall caved in after a heavy 40-minute downpour accompanied by thunderstorms and fierce gales. The wall was built only last week.
State Disaster Relief Force (SDRF) jawans retrieved six bodies by removing debris with their bare hands and also rescued two people. They did not have any equipment at the time.
Devotees alleged the wall collapsed because of substandard construction. They said from the debris it seemed as if it contained excessive sand and insufficient cement. The wall was also built without supporting pillars or beams on the ground.
This is the first ever tragedy at the centuries old temple during Chandanotsavam. Though there have been minor stampedes in the past, there were no fatalities.
State home minister V Anita said, "Action will be taken against those responsible for the accident." Chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu held a teleconference with ministers Anam Ramnarayaa Reddy, Anita, Dola Bala Veeranjaneya Swamy, Anagani Satya Prasad, Visakhapatnam MP M Bharat, Gajapati Raju, and others.
There was tension at the King George Hospital mortuary for almost five hours as family members and relatives of Pilla Umamahesh and Sailaja, a software engineer couple, did not agree to a postmortem unless the govt announced higher compensation and a govt job to a family member.
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The Andhra Pradesh govt appointed a three-man committee to look into the cause of the tragedy. It includes municipal administration principal secretary Suresh Kumar, Eagle Force chief Ake Ravikrishna, and irrigation engineer-in-chief Venkateswara Rao. CM N Chandrababdu Naidu announced an ex gratia of Rs 25 lakh each for the kin of the deceased. One member of the family will also receive a govt job. The injured will receive Rs 3 lakh each.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh each for the deceased's families and Rs 50,000 for the injured from the PM relief fund.
List of the dead
HCL employee Pilla Umamaheswara Rao (30), his wife Pilla Sailaja (27) of Chandrampalem, his mother-in-law Pyla Venkata Ratnam (45), and a relative G Mahalakshmi (65)
K Manikantha Eswara Sesha Rao (29) and Pathi Durga Prasad Naidu (30) from Korlapativaripalem in Ambajipeta, East Godavari district
Yedla Venkata Rao (58) of Adavivaram Gurukul School area in Vizag
Pyla Praveen of Arilova, the injured person, is receiving treatment in VIIMS hospital.
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