A host of amenities to come up at Simhachalam temple

Visakhapatnam: With the Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Heritage Augmentation Drive (PRASAD) scheme sanctioned by the Central Government, many development works will soon be undertaken in Sri Varaha Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Devasthanam for the convenience of devotees at a cost of about Rs 55 crore.

As part of it, Endowments Commissioner S Satyanarayana, Additional Commissioner K. Ramachandra Mohan, Simhachalam Executive Officer V Trinadha Rao, EEs, Srinivas Raju, Rambabu trust board members visited various places of Simhachalam here on Friday.

Speaking on the occasion, the Commissioner said the old Pushkarani Satram at the downhill will be replaced with a five storeyed new building with new amenities. He said that the present Pushkarani was built more than four decades ago. However, the marriage hall in the middle of the Pushkarani will remain the same, he added.

Later, the officials visited Agama School built in 1936. It will also be shifted to a new building which will come up in a new location. The existing school will be modernised and used for other needs, he added.

Satyanarayana said the office of the EO also needs to be constructed. Ample parking facility would be provided at the second tollgate and required space to be allotted to the tourism department, he mentioned.

Further, the Commissioner mentioned that sophisticated queue complexes will be constructed for the convenience of the devotees uphill. Another spacious Yagasala will be built in place of the present Yagasala, he informed.

To construct a new Yagasala, the Commissioner stated that the officials had a detailed discussion with temple Sthanacharya TP Raja Gopal, chief priest G Srinivasacharyulu and other priests. According to their instructions, the Commissioner explained that Yagasala will be constructed in the northeast corner of the temple.

However, the respective development works will be carried out according to the master plan and these works will be started soon, he mentioned. The Commissioner interacted with the students of Agama patashala and enquired about the facilities provided to them.

During the programme, the Commissioner performed special puja at the sanctum sanctorum and participated in 'Varalakshmi vratas.'