Visakhapatnam, August 14, 2013: The famous hill shrine of north coastal districts Simhachalam where devotees worship the presiding deity Sri Varaha Lakshmi Nrusimha Swamy wore a deserted look on Tuesday following the bandh in support of Samaikyandhra.

While buses were off the road, autorickshaws did not ply with youth, and auto drivers themselves, stopping the vehicles. Those who came to the temple unaware of the bandh call found it difficult to return to the nearest destination, the Simhachalam railway station, to catch a train back. Autos that usually ply at Simhachalam went on a voluntary bandh and those that came in from the city were stopped or charged a high fare. “I used to make at least six trips by now either in the area or to the city but did not take out my vehicle in support of the bandh,” said Demudu, an auto driver.

Though the Simhachalam Devasthanam plied its buses with no transport from outside, the shrine hardly had any visitors.

Kamaraju of Srikakulam district, who came to attend a function in the city, went uphill by the Devasthanam bus and worshipped and found it difficult to go back to the railway station as were a bunch of devotees from Berhampore who came unaware of the bandh here.

“Some 65 shops hardly have any buyers. We all closed our shops atop the hill. Instead of hundreds of visitors around this time, only a handful came for the darshan,” said Krishna, a petty vendor who reached the downhill by the afternoon.

Simhachalam Devasthanam Executive Officer K. Ramachandra Mohan, when contacted, said the bandh significantly affected the turnout of devotees. With it being Tuesday, the number of devotees is generally around 3,000. But it dropped to a low 300 to 400, he said.

Source: The Hindu, DT. August 14, 2013.