Temple land worth `50 cr taken over by Simhachalam

Visakhapatnam: Following the orders of the court, the officials of Sri Varaha Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Devasthanam took over about 3.4-acre of land from the possession of a private person.

According to the temple officials, the value of the land is estimated to be around Rs 50 crore. About 3.4 acres of land belong to the Devasthanam located at Vepagunta survey No.181 in Visakhapatnam here on Saturday.However, a dispute case was pending in the court for about a decade and a half regarding the ownership of the land between the Devasthanam and a private person.

Recently, the court issued the direction in favour of the temple and the officials. Following which, the land was handed over to the Devasthanam. Executive Officer of Simhachalam Devasthanam V Trinadha Rao, land protection cell and legal cell officers VBV Ramana Murthy, NVS Prasad Varma and EE Srinivasa Raju, along with the staff, took possession of the land. The officials installed warning boards in the site.

Speaking to the media, the EO termed taking possession of the land as a good sign as it is close to the city limits and the long-pending issue was resolved.

A number of such cases are pending in various courts for a long time and they will be resolved in favour of Devasthanam, the EO expressed confidence. Those who are trying to encroach Devasthanam lands will not be spared and efforts are taken to protect the temple lands by all means, added the EO.