Simhachalam temple executive officer went on long leave a month before Chandanotsavam
Visakhapatnam: The collapse of a hurriedly-constructed wall at
Simhachalam temple
, which claimed the lives of seven devotees on Wednesday, has exposed several issues. These include poor coordination amongst officials, violation of regulations, and the temple's regular executive officer's 90-day leave prior to the annual
Chandanotsavam
, which is the ancient temple's most important festival.
Sources said the tourism dept's executive engineer failed to inform his superiors about the construction of the wall just a few days before the festival. "This man also played a key role in the construction of the structures on Rushikonda hill," alleged Jana Sena leader Peetala Murthy Yadav, adding that he also faces accusations regarding the inflation of modernisation costs for the Yatri Nivas at Appu Ghar to approximately Rs 5.5 crore. Originally from the irrigation dept, he is currently on deputation with the tourism dept.
The temple's regular executive officer, V Trinatha Rao, went on leave for 90 days ahead of the temple's most important festival. He was granted leave by the endowments dept. Questions are being raised why the dept approved his leave (from Mar 1 to May 31) despite knowing the festival's significance. Notably, Rao was also the EO when devotees raised complaints during the 2023 Chandanotsavam.
Initially, senior officer Bramarambha was designated as the acting EO but he reportedly declined to shoulder the additional responsibilities. Subsequently, RJC Murthy received the additional charge of EO.
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