A day after seven devotees died in a wall collapse accident at the Simhachalam temple in Visakhapatnam, a three-member committee led by Principal Secretary, Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MAUD) S Suresh Kumar, visited the temple to investigate the incident.
The committee, which includes Inspector General (IG) of Police Ake Ravi Krishna and Engineer-in-Chief, Irrigation Department Venkateswar Rao, spoke to various officials and contractors involved in the construction of the wall on Thursday, May 1.
In a video of the committee’s inquiry at the temple, a contractor named Lakshmana Rao was seen telling them that he was rushed to finish the construction of the wall in time for the Chandanotsavam temple festival.
Thousands of devotees had visited the Sri Varaha Lakshmi Narasimha temple, Simhachalam, for the Chandanotsavam temple festival on April 30. Around 3 am, as they were standing in a queue for darshan tickets, the wall collapsed following heavy wind and rainfall.
“The work was done in a rush for Chandanotsavam; it has only been five days. We didn’t have enough time… I had refused to do the construction and halted it,” Lakshmana Rao said. When Suresh Kumar asked who had put pressure on him to speed up construction, whether it was the Endowment or the Tourism Department authorities, Lakshmana Rao said officials of both departments asked him to finish work in time for Chandanotsavam. He alleged that he was pressured into building a temporary structure despite refusing.
“Despite certain hurdles, they requested to finish it for the festival. Since it’s a programme for the deity, I did it despite not having drawings,” the contractor said, adding that the work began about six days before the collapse and was completed within four days.
The committee has been asked to submit a preliminary report within 72 hours and a detailed report within a month. Suresh Kumar told the media that the committee is speaking to multiple officials and contractors and looking into multiple angles, including poor quality of construction, lack of proper planning, and weather conditions. When asked about Lakshmana Rao’s statement, he said, “The committee cannot make a decision based on just one person’s testimony… We will have to re-examine the issue and arrive at a conclusion.”
Former Chief Minister and YSR Congress Party chief YS Jagan Mohan Reddy visited some of the victims of the mishap on May 1. He blamed the Chandrababu Naidu government for negligence in conducting temple festivals, referring to the stampede in Tirupati in January when six people were killed while waiting to buy tickets for the Vaikunta Ekadasi festival.
“The government knows well in advance when these festivals happen and that they will see a huge gathering of devotees. It’s the government’s negligence that has led to the loss of lives. Why wasn’t the wall built ahead of time? It was started six days ago and built in four days. This means the government hasn’t taken preparations for the festival seriously,” Jagan said.
He also questioned the construction quality of the wall.
Among the victims of the mishap were four members of a family – Sailaja (26) and her husband, Uma Maheswara Rao (30), Sailaja’s mother, Venkat Ratna (45), and aunt G Mahalakshmi (65).
Uma Maheswara Rao’s sister spoke to the media and said, “How could the government build the wall just before the festival? We are unable to bear the loss of four members of our family. The government owes us an explanation.”