Ramatheertham Temple in Vizianagaram to be developed

The Ramatheertham Temple, also known as the Kodanda Rama Swamy Temple, in Vizianagaram District, is now set to be developed by the Andhra Pradesh State Government with all required facilities and security. This ancient temple in Vizianagaram is considered the second Bhadradri by the people of Uttarandhra and neighbouring districts.

These security measures are especially required after the December 2020 incident at the temple where the Lord Rama idol in the temple was vandalised by unknown miscreants. After the incident, the Andhra Pradesh Endowments Department promised to take up the entire cost of the renovation work which is estimated to be Rs 3 crore. AP Endowments Minister, Velampalli Srinivasa Rao, who recently visited the temple said its development work will be completed by January 2022.

A few days ago, a team from the AP Endowments Department visited the temple at Nellimarla to see what work is required to be executed. A track has been laid for transporting construction material to the hilltop area using a construction vehicle. The necessary work on the hilltop is set to begin in a few days. The development of the temple focuses majorly on the security part with the installation of CCTV cameras. 

It may be recalled that after unknown miscreants had vandalised the Lord Rama idol at the temple last year, the State Government had ordered a probe into the incident and a special team was constituted to investigate the incident. After the attack on the temple in Vizianagaram, new idols of Rama, Sita and Lakshmana, carved by the SV Institute of Traditional Sculpture and Architecture, Tirumala, were brought to the Ramatheertham Temple and consecrated in January. Similar incidents of vandalism have been reported in Vijayawada and other parts of the state in the past. Following this, the State Endowment Department officials decided to take measures in order to prevent such attacks on any temples in Andhra Pradesh in the future.