Collapse of Structure at Medaram Temple Costs 7-Year-Old His Leg

-Warangal: The son of Sammakka Temple priest Siddaboina Ramesh had to have his leg amputated on March 25 after a stone slab placed as part of the beautification of the temple became loose and fell on him. The boy named Yuvin was playing near the sanctuary at that time.

Substandard construction and restoration work carried out during the last Medaram Maha Jathara is blamed for the permanent damage to the priest’s son. The incident sparked anger against the state government and contractors.

The heavy stone had crushed the boy’s lower limbs. He was initially admitted to Mulugu Government Hospital and later shifted to a private hospital in Hanamkonda for a specialized surgery. Despite multiple attempts to save his limbs, doctors had to amputate his left leg below the knee on Thursday night because his blood circulation had completely stopped. His right leg was fixed with a surgical rod.

The incident has raised a question mark over the quality of the overall Jathara works undertaken at a cost of ₹251 crore. While the state government claimed to have completed the development work at the temple in an unprecedented time frame, temple authorities and devotees had expressed concern over the structural stability of the work carried out as early as February.

They claim that the beautification was only superficial, with stone pillars and slabs showing signs of damage a few weeks after the festival ended.

The victim’s family and local residents accused the government of keeping the seriousness of the incident secret. They say there is a heavy police presence at the hospital to prevent news of the amputation reaching the media or the priestly community.

Although Panchayat Raj minister Seethakka visited the family on Wednesday to offer support, distraught parents questioned why their children had to pay the price for administrative negligence. While family members reacted to the substandard stone structures, the child’s grieving mother asked, “Who is responsible for my son’s permanent disability?” he asked.

Locals are demanding a high-level investigation into the award of the contract and the carrying out of quality checks as part of the Medaram work. They say that Rajiv Gandhi Town and other Jathara-related infrastructures should be inspected to prevent such a tragedy from recurring in the future.