Demand for protection of Bhadrachalam temple lands grows after Purushottapatnam incident

Officials of the historic Sri Seetha Ramachandra Swamy temple of Telangana’s Bhadrachalam faced a furious reaction from a group of angry villagers when they went to Purushottapatnam in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh on Tuesday to check encroachment of the Devasthanam (temple) lands.

Executive Officer of Bhadrachalam temple L. Rama Devi fainted in the scuffle that broke out in the melee. She was brought to Bhadrachalam and admitted to a local private hospital. Her condition is stable.

The temple has around 889.5 acres of land in the Purushottapatnam Gram Panchayat limits of Yetapaka mandal in Andhra Pradesh’s Alluri Sitharama Raju district.

According to temple sources, the incident took place when the temple staff led by the Executive Officer visited Purushottapatnam, a village located close to the Telangana-Andhra Pradesh border, to inspect and protect the temple lands from encroachment.

Citing some documents, the temple staff contended that the said lands belong to Sri Seetha Ramachandra Swamy temple, Bhadrachalam. Some irate locals picked up an argument with the temple staff and turned their ire at them amid sloganeering, resulting in a commotion in Purushottapatnam, sources added.

Meanwhile, the incident sparked outrage from a cross-section of devotees in Bhadrachalam, who vehemently demanded immediate steps to protect the temple lands.