The State government on Sunday rebutted the allegations by the TDP that Sri Neelamani Durga Ammavari temple at Pathapatnam in Srikakulam district was demolished on the pretext of road-widening work, clarifying that that only a part of the temple compound wall and the front arch had to be removed to facilitate the construction of a railway-flyover.
In a tweet and a Facebook post by ‘Fact Check AP’, an initiative of the A.P. Digital Corporation, it was stated that the temple was served a notice in 2020 for bringing down the compound wall and arch, and was paid ₹1,40,57,404 as compensation on October 20, 2020.
The structures were removed for which the authorities concerned had obtained permission from the temple.
The Special Grade Deputy Collector, Vamsadhara unit–2, local MRO and Assistant Commissioner of Endowments Department marked the land on October 22. The marked constructions in front of the temple were removed on Sunday and the authorities assured that the demolished parts would be built again with the help of the flyover contractor.
However, some ‘misleading videos’ have been circulating on the social media, said the clarification.