Naidu announces Rs.25 lakh ex-gratia, jobs to each deceased family

Amaravati: Expressing deep shock at the death of seven pilgrims following the sudden wall collapse at Sri Varaha Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple at Simhachalam near here, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Wednesday directed the officials to provide emergency medical services to the injured in the incident.

He ordered an inquiry with a three-man committee into the incident. Expressing deep sympathies to the families of the deceased, the Chief Minister announced Rs.25 lakh each as ex-gratia to the families of the deceased and also said that one member from each family will be provided employment on outsourcing basis in the temples under the purview of the Endowments Department.

Similarly, Rs.3 lakh will be paid as assistance to those who are injured, the Chief Minister said and assured the affected families that the State Government will certainly stand by them.

Naidu also ordered that the debris be removed immediately so that no inconvenience is caused to the devotees.

The Chief Minister said that it is really painful that when a large number of devotees have gathered to see the Nija Rupam (true form of the Lord) on Wednesday, a wall collapsed in the queue due to heavy rain at midnight due to which some devotees lost their lives.

Soon after learning about the incident, Naidu had a teleconference with the Ministers Anam Ramanarayana Reddy, Dola Bala Veeranjaneya Swamy, Vangalapudi Anitha and Anagani Satya Prasad, Vizag MP, M.Bharat and trustee of the Simhachalam temple P. Ashok Gajapathi Raju.

Naidu, who expressed deep sorrow over the tragedy inquired about the details of the incident and the medical assistance being provided to the injured persons.