HYDERABAD: The sudden rain combined with strong winds wreaked havoc at Yadagirigutta Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swami temple town in the wee hours of Wednesday. The continuous downpour which started at around 5 am, continued for couple of hours, leaving behind a trail of destruction.
So much water had accumulated on the temple’s premises, that the water had entered the queue complex of the temple. Due to the strong winds, the shades laid to protect the devotees from the sun while standing in the queue, and shades made of bamboo placed at various locations on the hillock got blown away. Devotees who had obviously not followed the weather forecast, were caught unawares.
When a bus tried to ferry devotees from the foot of the hill to the temple, its tires got stuck in the wet soil, which slid down and ended up on the ghat road. A BT road also caved in near the temple, raising questions over the quality of roads constructed by the contractors. Devotees had no option but to walk up to the temple on Wednesday morning. The ghat road was closed for vehicles and authorities cleared the road using JCBs.
Huge chunks of earth entered residential colonies located at the foot of the hill, which were also cleared by officials. The temporary bus stand set up at Yadagirigutta was inundated with rainwater. Trees too came crashing down due to strong winds.
Principal Secretary for Endowments Anil Kumar visited the temple’s premises along with officials from the temple development authority and monitored the situation.