Latest news with #Devasthanam
Hans India
3 days ago
- General
- Hans India
Simhachalam gears up for Giri Pradakshina
Visakhapatnam: Sri Varaha Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple Executive Officer Vendra Trinadha Rao instructed the officials to make elaborate arrangements for Giri Pradakshina scheduled on July 9. At a meeting held with the temple officials here on Friday, he discussed facilities to be provided to the devotees participating in the Giri Pradakshina. The EO instructed the officials to make arrangements as lakhs of devotees are likely to participate in Giri Pradakshina observed annually on Aashada Pournami. He instructed Executive Engineer Bandaru Rambabu to coordinate with GVMC, police, and medical departments to facilitate required amenities for devotees. Donors and voluntary organisations will also be involved in the festival to serve devotees. Further, the EO stated that steps should be taken to set up Devasthanam's stalls around the hill. During the meeting, the officials briefed the EO that the GVMC is take up sanitation maintenance and set up mobile toilets at various locations. Also, discussions will be held with GVMC officials regarding streetlights and drinking water facilities. The temple officials mentioned that Giri Pradakshina that commences from Tholipavancha at the downhill will reach Simhachalam via Old Adavivaram, Mudasarlova, Hanumanthavaka, Akkayyapalem, Muralinagar, NAD Kotha Road, and Prahaladapuram. Soon, a coordination meeting will be held to discuss security arrangements to be made for the festival with the involvement of crime and traffic ACPs of the police department, including Kancharapalem, Gopalapatnam and other police stations. Devasthanam stanacharyulu TP Raja Gopal, Special Deputy Collector Geetanjali, AEOs Ramana Murthy, N Anand Kumar and Pilla Srinivasa Rao, AE Tataji, and staff participated in the meeting.
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
11-05-2025
- General
- Hans India
Special puja rituals on ‘Vaisakha Pournami'
Visakhapatnam: Special rituals to be performed at Sri Satyanarayana Swamy temple at Iskukakonda marking the occasion of 'Vaisakha Pournami' celebrated on May 12, said Executive Officer of the Devasthanam T Raja Gopala Reddy. Briefing about the importance of the festival here on Saturday, the EO mentioned that scores of people believe that their wishes would be fulfilled if they circumambulate the temple's sanctum sanctorum on the full moon day and perform 'Satyanarayana Swamy vratham' on the occasion. As part of the festival, special puja rituals are scheduled to commence at the Devasthanam as early as 2:30 am on Monday. The puja rituals will be followed by 'Satyanarayana Swamy vratham', 'Dwajastamba puja,' among others. To accommodate a large number of devotees, 'Satyanarayana Swamy vratham' will be performed in batches. 'Those who like to participate in the 'vratham' can either buy Rs 1,116 or Rs 516 tickets which will be made available at the Devasthanam,' the EO informed. Much to the convenience of the devotees who frequent the temple, a ghat road was laid recently adjacent to Dayaram Sweets, Poorna Market connecting the shrine. This will aid in avoiding taking the temple route via King George Hospital mortuary.
New Indian Express
02-05-2025
- New Indian Express
Contractor claims pressure to build wall before Simhachalam tragedy
VISAKHAPATNAM: A day after the tragic incident at the Simhachalam temple, where seven devotees lost their lives due to the collapse of a retaining wall during Chandanotsavam, contractor Lakshmana Rao has made serious revelations regarding the construction of the wall. 'I was pressured to build the wall,' Rao, who was responsible for the wall's construction, told the three-member inquiry committee during the investigation. The three-member committee, appointed by the State government, began its investigation into the incident in Visakhapatnam on Thursday. The committee members visited Simhachalam, and began examining the circumstances surrounding the wall collapse. Officials have been directed to submit a detailed report within 72 hours. Rao, in his testimony to the committee, stated that he had initially refused to undertake the construction due to the extremely tight timeline before the festival. 'There was hardly any time left, and I clearly informed them that it wasn't feasible to build the wall in just six days,' he said. Despite his objections, Rao claimed that officials from both the Devasthanam and the Tourism Department insisted that he proceed with the project. 'They pressured me to build the wall. I was told it was only a temporary structure,' he added. Rao further revealed that the construction work began just four days before Chandanotsavam, raising concerns about the quality of the work given the short time frame.
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.
