The death of seven devotees in a wall collapse along the queue line at the Sri Varaha Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple in Simhachalam, Visakhapatnam, has shaken the Telugu Desam Party-led coalition government.
To its credit, the state government responded swiftly and decisively to the tragedy.
One person who earned appreciation across the board was state home minister Vangalapudi Anitha. She rushed to the temple within minutes of the incident, which occurred at around 3:30 a.m.
Anitha played a key role in overseeing the rescue operations. She remained actively involved from the moment the incident occurred until the post-mortems were completed at King George Hospital and the bodies were handed over to the grieving families.
However, certain leaders from the ruling party have drawn sharp criticism from the public, devotees, and opposition parties for their lack of response. One such leader is Visakhapatnam MP M. Sri Bharat, who was notably absent throughout the day.
Despite attending the Chandanotsavam (sandalwood festival) darshan in the morning, Bharat offered no visible reaction to the tragedy and quietly left the venue.
“Even after learning about the incident, he slipped away to Delhi as if nothing had happened,” a local leader said.
Bharat, who often boasts of his strong presence in the district, failed to even express basic condolences to the victims’ families.
His silent exit from Visakhapatnam without showing any human empathy has drawn widespread criticism.
Similarly, TDP state president and Gajuwaka MLA Palla Srinivasa Rao also disappeared soon after the tragedy. Though he attended the darshan in the morning, he left for Vijayawada later in the day to attend a wedding.
In contrast, several other leaders from the TDP and Jana Sena Party, including Ganta Srinivasa Rao, Velagapudi Ramakrishna Babu, Ganababu, Panchakarla Ramesh Babu, Vamsi Krishna, Vishnukumar Raju, Sundarapu Vijay Kumar, and Mayor Pilla Srinivas, actively participated in the rescue and relief efforts.
They visited the KGH mortuary, consoled the victims’ families, and oversaw the post-mortem procedures.
