VHP urges Revanth Reddy to take up Bhadrachalam temple land issue with Naidu

In a statement, VHP State president B Narasimha Murthy said Sita Ramachandra Swamy temple trust board of Bhadrachalam was facing an uphill task of protecting around 890 acres of temple lands, currently located in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh and worth crores of rupees.

Hyderabad: The Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) State unit has urged Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy to take up the issue of the properties of Bhadrachalam Sri Sitaramachandra Swamy temple located in Andhra Pradesh with Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu.

In a statement issued here on Saturday, VHP State president B Narasimha Murthy said Sita Ramachandra Swamy temple trust board of Bhadrachalam was facing an uphill task of protecting around 890 acres of temple lands, currently located in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh and worth crores of rupees.

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After bifurcation of the State, the Bhadrachalam temple came under Bhadradri Kothagudem district and the temple lands under the Purushothapatnam village in Etapaka mandal of Alluri Sitaramaraju district of Andhra Pradesh, he said.

While only Bhadrachalam town along with the temple remained with the Telangana, all the surrounding 211 villages falling under seven revenue blocks were transferred to Andhra Pradesh through an amendment to the AP Reorganisation Act-2014, on the ground that they were part of the submergence areas of the Polavaram major irrigation project being built in Godavari River, he said, adding that thus, Purushothapatnam village, too, became part of Andhra Pradesh.

Alleging that the villagers of Purushothapatnam were encroaching the temple lands with the help of local politicians, he urged Revanth Reddy to take up the matter with AP Chief Minister and resolve it amicably.