Karimnagar: The ancient Sri Raja Rajeshwara Swamy Devasthanm (SRRD) of Vemulawada has been in the news these days. A four-month-old kid was kidnapped from a woman devotee’s lap when she was asleep in an open area of the shrine, on May 3.
Before that, a home guard thrashed a female devotee holding her responsible for tearing her sari right on the premises of the temple on April 15. In the latest instance, a scam worth Rs 6 crore has come to the fore.
Wall posters, purportedly written by activists of Bahujana Karmika Sangham, were pasted all over walls of the shrine, creating a flutter in the temple town, recently. The posters read: “Sanitation inspector Buddi Bhagavan is indulging in irregularities by colluding with the contractor, Sirigiri Ramchander Rao.
He is swindling somewhere between Rs 5 lakh and Rs 6 lakh per annum by offering wages to sanitation workers, considerably lower wages than they deserve. Accordingly, he has swindled Rs 6 crorein the past 10 years.’’
Members of a fact-finding committee, formed by People’s Union of Civil Liberties, inquired into alleged exploitation of sanitation workers, on Monday. Jaya Vindhyala, a member of fact-finding committee, said, “Sweepers and scavengers are being paid somewhere between Ra 4,500 and Rs 5,500 as against Rs 8,600, violating labour laws. The society through which the contractor is securing the works was found to be a fake one.”
Around Rs 50 lakh is being swindled per annum. The contractor, Sirigiri Ramachander Rao, through a society, has been taking up sanitation works of the shrine since 10 years. The historic shrine is spending Rs 1.10 crore per annum on keeping up its premises clean. In addition, funds worth about Rs 25 lakh are granted for this purpose at the time of the annual Mahasivarathri Jatara.
“We were shocked when Mr Ramchander Rao told us that he was not deducting some amount from salaries of sanitation workers because he had to bribe officials belonging to various departments. He revealed this when we questioned him about injustice meted out to the workers in giving salaries,’’ stated another member.
