Simhachalam wall collapse: Man's decision to leave wife at home saves her life

Yedla Venkata Rao, one of the seven victims of the Simhachalam temple wall collapse on Wednesday, may have lost his life in the tragedy, but his decision to leave his wife at home ultimately saved her.

Seven people were crushed to death in the early hours of the day when a rain-soaked wall collapsed at the Sri Varaha Lakshmi Narasimha Temple (Simhachalam) in Visakhapatnam.

"Both husband and wife were supposed to go to the temple, but some colleagues were coming from the plant (Visakhapatnam Steel Plant), so he left my sister behind and went alone," said a relative, speaking to a news channel.

Rao, an employee of the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant, was identified through television news scrolls, prompting his relative to call his sister to check on him.

"I live in Pendurthy and they live in Adivivaram. I saw Rao’s name on the news scroll but didn’t think much of it. Still, as a precaution, I called my sister. She asked me to come home immediately," he said.

According to Rao’s wife, who was seen sobbing in an autorickshaw at the King George Hospital (KGH) in Vizag, her husband’s friends informed her that his Aadhaar card had been found at the site of the collapse.

"They called me and asked if annaya (Rao) had gone for darshan. I told them he had gone and returned home. Then they told us to come to the hospital," she said.

Meanwhile, former industries minister and YSRCP leader G Amarnath alleged that the wall had been built only four to five days ago and was burdened too soon.

"Within five days of building the wall and before the concrete had cured, a support was placed on it. What kind of technology is this? Can a three- or four-day-old wall take such a burden when there’s a hill right behind it? If you hammer nails into it and put weight on it, will it hold?" he asked on a news channel.

"Seven people have died—who will bring them back now? This is not the time for politics," he added.

The tragedy struck on the auspicious occasion of Chandanotsavam at the Simhachalam temple.

The idol at the Simhachalam temple is covered with sandalwood paste throughout the year and is revealed only once annually, during the Chandanotsavam festival.