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The Hindu
30-04-2025
- General
- The Hindu
Chandanotsavam: thousands of devotees throng Simhachalam temple for darshan of deity
Thousands of devotees thronged the temple of Sri Varaha Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple at Simhachalam to participate in the biggest annual festival – Chandanotsavam – here on Wednesday, April 30. It is only on this day of the year that devotees can have the 'Nijaroopa darshanam' as the thick sandalwood covering on the idol is removed. The festivities began with 'Suprabhatam' at 1 a.m. (early hours of Wednesday), followed by Viswaksena puja, Punyavachanam, Ritwikgvaranam, Panchakalavahanam and Chananottaram. Hereditary trustee of the temple P. Ashok Gajapathi Raju and his family members were the first to have darshan, as per the practice at the temple, around 3 a.m. He carried the silk vastrams, had darshan, and presented the silk vastram to the deity in a silver plate. He was received by the priests with temple honours. Revenue Minister Anagani Satya Prasad presented silk vastrams to the deity on behalf of the State government. Ministers, MPs and MLAs had darshan in the early hours. The authorities allowed ₹300 ticket holders into ₹1,000 queue lines as there was no other option in view of the wall collapse on devotees in the ₹300 ticket queue line and rescue work was going on. This resulted in chaos till around noon but the situation improved later. The wall collapse and death of devotees, however, did not hamper darshan of the deity. Though a number of free buses were deployed to ferry passengers to the hilltop and back to the foothill after darshan, they seemed far from adequate as thousands of devotees thronged the temple. RTC buses were operated from the Gosala Junction (near the petrol bunk) and from the Adavivaram side entry. Devotees had a tough time, in getting a foothold in the buses from the hilltop after darshan.
New Indian Express
30-04-2025
- New Indian Express
Eight devotees killed after wall collapses at Andhra's Simhachalam Temple; CM announces Rs 25 lakh ex gratia
VISAKHAPATNAM: Eight devotees died and few others were injured after a wall collapsed at Sri Varaha Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple in Simhachalam during the annual Chandanotsavam festival in the early hours of Wednesday. The incident occurred in the Rs 300 queue line where devotees had gathered for 'Nijaroopa Darshan' of the deity. Officials said the wall gave way after heavy midnight rainfall in the region. The wall, constructed just 20 days ago, is suspected to have collapsed due to heavy rainfall that occurred between 2:30 a.m. and 3:30 a.m. However, the exact cause of the collapse is still under investigation. The incident occurred shortly after the temple's hereditary trustee, Ashok Gajapathi Raju, offered silk robes to the deity as part of the traditional ritual. Of the eight deceased, three were women and five were men. Seven of them died on the spot, while one succumbed to injuries later. 'So far, three victims have been identified through Aadhaar cards. The remaining bodies are yet to be identified and have been kept in the mortuary. Postmortem will begin once their families confirm the identities,' said K. Sivanand, Superintendent of King George Hospital. Three of the deceased are identified as Y. Venkat Rao (55), P. Swamy Naidu (33), and K. Manikanta Eswar (28). Rescue teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force (SDRF), fire services, and police were deployed immediately. Visakhapatnam District Collector M. N. Harendhira Prasad, Police Commissioner Dr. Shanka Brata Bagchi and home minister Vangalapudi Anitha visited the site and supervised the relief efforts. Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu expressed deep grief over the incident and held a teleconference with ministers Anam Ramanarayana Reddy, Dola Bala Veeranjaneya Swamy, Vangalapudi Anitha, Anagani Satya Prasad, MP Bharat, and temple trustee Ashok Gajapathi Raju. He directed the officials to ensure proper medical care for the injured and announced the formation of a three-member committee to conduct a detailed inquiry into the incident. The Chief Minister also declared an ex gratia payment of Rs 25 lakh each to the families of the deceased and Rs 3 lakh to each injured person. Additionally, one eligible member from each bereaved family will be offered an outsourced job under the Endowments Department. He instructed officials to clear the debris immediately and take necessary steps to prevent inconvenience to devotees. With large crowds expected in the coming days, he also emphasised the need for crowd safety and control measures. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in a post on X (formerly Twitter), expressed condolences and announced ex gratia relief of Rs 2 lakh for each deceased and Rs 50,000 for the injured from the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund (PMNRF). Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan described the incident as deeply unfortunate and extended his condolences. He said he had reviewed the situation with local officials and directed them to ensure the injured receive proper treatment. Revenue Minister Anagani Satya Prasad, who visited the temple, stated that the government is extending all support to the affected families. Endowments Minister Anam Ramanarayana Reddy expressed sorrow and said the government has launched a probe into the incident. Meanwhile, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) demanded that Visakhapatnam District Collector and Utsav Committee in-charge Ramachandra Mohan be held accountable. VHP State Math-Mandir representative Pudipeddi Sharma criticised officials for allegedly focusing on VIP arrangements at the cost of general devotees' safety. A devotee who narrowly escaped the collapse said, 'It was a close call for me — I had passed through the same spot just three to five minutes before the wall collapsed. We heard a loud crashing sound as the wall came down, and it was truly frightening." Former Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy expressed deep sorrow over the tragic deaths of devotees at the Simhachalam Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple during the Chandanotsavam celebrations. He urged the government to provide the best medical care to the injured and extend full support to the families of the deceased. Andhra Pradesh Governor S. Abdul Nazeer expressed deep anguish over the loss of seven lives in the wall collapse incident at the Simhachalam temple during Chandanotsavam. Extending his heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families, the Governor directed the district administration to ensure proper medical care for those injured in the incident. Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy also conveyed his condolences and expressed sadness over the incident. An inquiry into the incident is underway, and officials have assured that safety measures will be strengthened to avoid such tragedies in the future.
The Hindu
29-04-2025
- General
- The Hindu
Arrangements in place for annual ‘Chandanotsavam' at Simhachalam
The stage is set for the biggest annual festival — Chandanotsavam — at Sri Varaha Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple at Simhachalam, here, on April 30. It is only this day of the year that devotees can have 'Nijaroopa darshanam' as the thick sandalwood covering on the idol will be removed. The festivities would begin with 'Suprabhatam' at 1 a.m. (early hours of Wednesday), followed by Viswaksena puja, Punyavachanam, Ritwikgvaranam, Panchakalavahanam and Chananottaram. Hereditary trustee of the temple P. Ashok Gajapathi Raju and his family members would be the first to have darshan, as per tradition in practice at the temple, at 3 a.m. It would be followed by a representative of the Endowments department offering 'pattu vastrams' to the deity, on behalf of the State government. This would be followed by presentation of 'pattu vastrams' (silk robes) by the TTD following by darshan by VVIPs and VIPs. Devotees will be allowed to get a darshan of the deity from 4 a.m. Protocol VIPs will be allowed to have darshan from 5 a.m. to 6 a.m. and 8.30 p.m. to 9.30 p.m. There will be no 'ashirvachanams' and 'antaralaya' darshanam on April 30. The queue lines would be closed at 7 p.m. and devotees who have already entered the queue would be allowed darshan of the deity till the end of the last person standing in the queue. Devotees going for 'free darshan' and ₹300, ₹1,000 and ₹1,500 ticket holders would be allowed to have darshan from the 'Neeladri mandapam'. The 'Nijarupa darshanam' would conclude with 'abhishekam' and other Vedic rituals at 11 p.m. RTC will provide free bus services from 4.30 a.m. to 6 p.m. for devotees going up and coming down the hill. The RTC buses will not ferry passengers from the foothill to the hilltop after 6 p.m. They will however continue to ferry passengers from the hilltop to the foothill even after 6 p.m. Meanwhile, District Collector MN Harendhira Prasad and Joint Collector K. Mayur Ashok inspected the arrangements for the Chandanotsavam festival on Tuesday (April 29). The Collector directed the officials concerned to arrange water, biscuits and buttermilk for devotees in the queue lines and milk for children. Mobile toilets should be provided on the hill and at the foothill for the convenience of devotees. He directed Medical and Health authorities to conduct medical camps and keep ambulances ready in case of any emergency.
