Deputy Chief Minister and Endowments Minister Kottu Satyanarayana has said that a probe has been ordered into the allegations of irregularities in the sale of special tickets for the Nijaroopa Darshan of the deity of Sri Varaha Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy at Simhachalam temple here on Chandanotsavam on Sunday (April 23).
Speaking to reporters here at the Collectorate on Monday, Mr. Satyanarayana said that there is no failure on the part of the government in organising the festival. He said that all steps were taken for the smooth conduct of the festival by valuing the sentiments of the devotees. The unprecedented rush was caused due to the entry of devotees without maintaining the slot timings on that day, and also nearly two lakh devotees visited the temple this time against their estimation of 1.5 lakh devotees, he said.
The Minister said that a private vehicle broke down on the ghat road at 7 a.m. and another vehicle at 11 a.m. resulting in a traffic problem on the ghat road on the festival day. Nearly 8,000 cars and 10,000 motorcycles were parked at the bottom of the hill, while 2,500 cars and 2,000 motorcycles were allotted to be parked atop the hill, he said.
“We have taken seriously the allegations that special tickets were sold beyond the permitted numbers. We have directed Visakhapatnam Collector A. Mallikarjuna to conduct an inquiry and submit the report to the government,” said the Endowments Minister.
Second ghat road proposal
Mr. Satyanarayana said that there is a proposal to build a second ghat road to reduce the traffic congestion on Simhachalam hills during the festivals. The proposal would be taken to the notice of Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, he added.
“As the number of devotees increases every year, the temple needs a second ghat road. While there were 80,000 devotees on the day of Chandanotsavam in 2022, this time around two lakh people visited the temple. Traffic problems have arisen with the single ghat road. We will make this proposal feasible shortly,” Mr. Satyanarayana said.
