In a premeditated attack, the Executive Officer of the historic Sri Sita Ramachandra Swamy Temple at Bhadrachalam, Telangana was attacked by villagers in Purushothapatnam of Andhra Pradesh on July 8, when she visited the area to inspect encroachments of temple lands.
EO becomes unconscious after attack
Executive Officer L Rama Devi, who went to inspect the encroached land, was assaulted by encroachers and became unconscious during the attack. She was immediately shifted to a private hospital in Bhadrachalam for treatment. An outsourcing employee accompanying her also fell ill after the incident and was admitted to hospital.
Land under dispute since State bifurcation
The Bhadrachalam temple in Telangana’s Bhadradri Kothagudem district owns around 917 acres in Purushothapatnam, a village transferred to Andhra Pradesh following the state’s bifurcation in 2014. Despite a High Court order directing restoration of the land to the temple, encroachments have continued.
Most of these lands were encroached upon by locals who constructed churches and mosques and have been squatting on them for a long period. Hindu devotees and Vishva Hindu Parishad teams raised their concerns with the respective authorities, highlighting the issue of encroachments and illegal constructions.
Bhadrachalam Temple Land Row: VHP seeks protection from Andhra and Telangana CMshttps://t.co/GdxHPH8QcB
— Organiser Weekly (@eOrganiser) July 8, 2024
Minister warns encroachers
Telangana Endowments Minister Konda Surekha condemned the attack, stating that assaults on temple officials would not be tolerated. She warned that the Preventive Detention Act would be invoked against those involved in illegal occupation of temple land. The minister also urged Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu to resolve the long-standing issue.
The encroached land is located just two kilometres from Bhadrachalam temple town on the banks of the Godavari River and is worth several crores of rupees.
Post-bifurcation, Bhadrachalam town and temple remained with Telangana, while 211 surrounding villages under seven mandals, including Purushothapatnam, were transferred to Andhra Pradesh for the Polavaram irrigation project submergence.
The Sri Sitaramachandra Swamy Temple is a renowned Hindu temple dedicated to Bhagwan Rama, located in Bhadrachalam, on the banks of the Godavari River in Bhadradri Kothagudem district.
In 2021, the Government of India included Bhadrachalam as one of the key destinations in the Ramayana Circuit of the IRCTC Pilgrim Special Train, underscoring the temple’s spiritual and cultural significance in the Ramayana tradition.
