VIJAYAWADA: The chariot of famous Sri Lakshmi Narasimha temple in Antarvedi of East Godavari district was gutted in a fire mishap in the intervening night of Saturday and Sunday. The chariot, built over 60 years back, was used for special occasions and rituals at the temple.
The chariot kept under a shed went up in flames and before anyone could reach there, it was gutted completely. A probe has been launched in the incident to ascertain the reason behind the incident.
State endowments minister Vellampalli Srinivas, while terming the incident to be an unfortunate one, ordered for a probe into the incident and has appointed endowments department additional commissioner Ramachandra Mohan as the enquiry officer. "Enquiry will be done by endowments, policee and the fire services personnel and those responsible for the mishap will be punished," the minister said, further adding that they are probing whether it is negligence or sabotage that led to the fire.
The officials of the departmenr concerned have been asked to take steps for the reconstruction of the chariot.
The fire has sparked widespread condemnations and protests by Opposition parites and right wing organisations. Leaders of Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Jana Sena Party staged a protest at the temple demanding suspension of the tempe executive officer and strict action against those involved in the incident.
State BJP chief Somu Veerraju has demanded CM Jaganmohan Reddy to form an investigation team to probe into the mishap and bring the perpetrators to justice within three days.