The priests of Sri Varaha Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple at Simhachalam were paid half salaries till August since the outbreak of COVID-19, and not at all paid since then. Similarly, suppliers of flowers and other material were also not paid their dues for several months, said former MLA and BJP leader P. Vishnu Kumar Raju.
Addressing the media here on Wednesday, Mr. Raju wondered as to how the Minister for Endowments and MLAs were getting their salaries on the 3rd of every month, when there was no money to pay the salaries of priests and to clear the dues of suppliers. Such a situation was not seen at the temple in the past. He suggested that the temple has fixed deposits to the tune of over ₹60 crore and temporary loans could be raised, if required, for payment of salaries.
The BJP leader suggested that an emergency reserve fund could be set up with 20% of the revenue of the Endowments Department for use in emergencies. He recalled that the ancestors of hereditary trustees like P. Anand Gajapathi Raju and P. Ashok Gajapathi Raju had donated hundreds of acres of land to the temple.
Referring to the tweets of Rajya Sabha member V. Vijaya Sai Reddy, who allegedly tried to portray BJP national general secretary D. Purandeswari in bad light, Mr. Raju said that Ms. Purandeswari was elected twice as MP in the past and had served as a Union Minister and was now an active BJP leader. He condemned the attitude of Mr. Reddy towards her.
Commenting on the non-allotment of houses constructed for the poor under the 'Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojna' in the past, he appealed to the State government to ensure their early completion and allotment to the beneficiaries without any further delay.
Beach development
BJP Parliamentary district president M. Raveendra said that the Centre had announced the development of Rushikonda Beach as a ‘Blue Flag’ beach and works were going on since long. Water purification, beach beautification and construction of toilets were done as part of the project. Similarly, Simhachalam temple was sanctioned ₹53 crore under the PRASAD scheme of the Government of India for development of pilgrim amenities, transport facilities and power generation apart from promotion of local art and culture. These activities were designed to promote local employment. He said that the Centre wants a committee of the heads of religious organisations to decide on the works to be taken up under the scheme.