Sadhu Parishad slams temple officials over Bhadrachalam land dispute

The confrontational attitude of the endowment and temple officials would not solve the problem. The issue would be taken to the notice of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy to bring about an amicable solution, Srinivasananda Saraswati said.

Kothagudem: Andhra Pradesh Sadhu Parishad, which was on a self-proclaimed fact-finding mission to ‘protect’ Bhadrachalam Sri Seetha Ramachandra Swamy Devasthanam lands visited Purushothapatnam village in the neighbouring Telugu state, and strangely accused the temple authorities of aggravating the situation.

The Sadhu Parishad president, Swami Srinivasananda Saraswati, and its honorary president Atluri Narayana Rao along with several other seers visited the temple on Thursday and later interacted with the residents of Purushothpatnam.

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Speaking to the media at the temple Srinivasananda Saraswati stated that they intended to act as a fact-finding committee to look into the facts concerning the dispute that has been going on for years over the temple lands. It would explore the measures to address the issue at the earliest by hearing the versions of temple officials and residents of Purushothapatnam.

After meeting the Purushothapatnam residents and farmers, the committee again interacted with the media. Srinivasananda Saraswati said the ongoing dispute over the temple lands has been hurting the sentiments of Hindu devotees in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

For many decades, the villagers being the devotees of Lord Rama, have been living on the temple lands. The committee has noticed their understandable concern about their right to occupy the land. The issue has to be sorted out without any injustice to the residents who serve Lord Rama and the devasthanam.

The confrontational attitude of the endowment and temple officials would not solve the problem. The issue would be taken to the notice of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy to bring about an amicable solution, Srinivasananda Saraswati said.

It was very unfair for the endowment officials to trouble the farmers in the village. If the endowment officials cause injustice to the farmers and want to sell the lands to whoever they want, other than the villagers who have been living there for generations, the Sadhu Parishad would not remain silent. It was not right to file cases against one another, Narayana Rao said.

Meanwhile, the villagers held the temple officials responsible for the issue getting complicated and said they have not attacked the temple EO or the staff during a recent clash at the village. Flexi banners welcoming the Sadhu Parishad were displayed in the village.