The inscriptions at Jagannatha Gattu temple have been vandalised allegedly by local youth who have been visiting the place. According to experts, the temple is about 700 years old and the inscriptions are presumed to be 150 to 200 years old.
Historian K. Maddaiah told The Hindu that the inscriptions, though written after the construction of the temple, talk about the history of Kurnool and the Vijayanagar Empire. Mr. Maddaiah has written seven books on the history of Rayalaseema and has studied the inscriptions at various temples in the region.
“The inscriptions were done by a local poet, who was a learned one in Telugu and Sanskrit. This poet was one of the first chroniclers of the Vijayanagaram Empire,” Mr. Maddaiah added.
Protection
On the vandalism of the inscriptions, Mr. Maddaiah said he had spoken to district tourism officers and asked them to construct an iron grill around the inscriptions. “However, nothing of the sort has happened yet,” he said.
B. Prameelamma, a local who owns a coconut shop at the temple, said the temple had been seeing fewer devotees every year. However, she adds that there had been a spike in the number of young couples visiting the temple. “These young people do not understand the importance of the temple and they carve their names or paint their names on the cave temple,” she added.
Some local residents demanded that the district authorities erect structures to protect the inscriptions from being damaged. They said the temple should be developed so that more people visited the place. “If there are more people, incidents like vandalism will not take place,” said another resident.
