At least eight devotees are feared dead and many others injured after a newly built wall collapsed at Simhachalam Temple during the early hours amid the annual Chandanotsavam.
This is the second such accident in Andhra Pradesh in less than four months.
Also Read – Vizag Metro: Ground Breaking in October
In January this year, a stampede in Tirupati claimed six lives and injured dozens more in a crush as they queued for tickets to Vaikunta Ekadasi.
And now it happened in the Simhachalam Temple for Chandanotsavam.
Also Read – Revanth Reddy Appears in Court Second Time As CM
Both these events are highly popular and people are expected to throng the temples in big numbers. The officials who were to make extensive arrangements completely failed.
The tragedy is that no lesson has been learned from the first accident.
Also Read – Jagan Liquor Mafia: Daily Thriller Series
YSR Congress has already started a propaganda that back-to-back accidents in the Temples in this new Government are nothing but inauspicious.
Leaving aside political propaganda, the government is the custodian of the lives of the people.
If people die due to their health problems and negligence, they will adjust saying that it is their fate. It is unacceptable if they lose their lives due to the negligence of others.
That’s what happened exactly here.
The Government should not brush off its hands by announcing ex gratia.
Neither did these accidents happen unexpectedly. Everyone is aware that these are popular events, and a huge number of people will come for Darshan on these days. Yet there are lapses in arrangements.
The concerned officials should be held responsible and reprimanded.
Reports are coming in that the collapsed wall was recently constructed. A case should be registered against the concerned contractor for killing eight persons.
The Engineering Department, which should test and certify the quality of the construction, should also be punished. Criminal cases should be registered against the officials as well.
The Temple Officials, the Temple Board, and the Endowments Minister should be reprimanded. Only then will the system see some accountability.
In 1956, the then Railway Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri resigned on Moral Grounds after two train accidents – one in Mahabubnagar and one near Ariyalur, Tamil Nadu.
In 1999, the then Railway Minister Nitish Kumar had resigned to the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee following a Train collision due to a signalling error.
That sort of accountability should come into the system. Only then will everyone behave responsibly, and people will trust and respect the Government.
