Ghanpur Anicut turns as deathspot for Edupayala devotees

During the first five months seven people drowned. Since there was no monitoring of the movement of devotees, the drowning incidents have become a regular feature here.

Medak: Ghnapur Anicut, a dam built across river Manjeera in Medak district, has become a death spot for the devotees of Sri Vana Durga Bhavani Temple, which is famously called Edupayala Temple. Since the water body is located very close to the temple, devotees venture into it and drown. During the last two years, as many as 25 people drowned in this water body.

The last man to meet the watery grave in the Ghanpur Anicut was Dovuri Kiran Kumar (22) on Wednesday. People from across the erstwhile Medak, Hyderabad and other parts of Telangana and from neighbouring Maharashtra and Karnataka visit this temple to pray.

---

The temple witnesses heavy footfalls on Sundays and other holidays. After prayers, the devotees feast with family and friends on the temple premises and consumption of alcohol is not restricted near the temple. As a result many of the pilgrims consume liquor and get into the reservoir only to lose their lives.

During the first five months seven people drowned. Since there was no monitoring of the movement of devotees, the drowning incidents have become a regular feature here.

A devotee, K Srinivas urged the government to create a safe bathing ghat for devotees besides appointing a couple of expert divers to check the drowning incidents. Though the temple was earning handsome revenue, the management had failed to make any arrangements for the safety of devotees.

The Vana Durga Bhavani Temple became famous as Edupayala Temple because the River Manjeera will be divided into seven streams downstream of Ghanpur Anicut. But, the same river is claiming many lives due to the negligence of temple authorities and devotees as well.

The Nizam era dam was, built some hundred years ago, had a storage capacity of 350MCft. It was seen as lifeline of Medak district since nearly 40,000 acres will be irrigated under the project.