Calves offered to Simhachalam temple found dead

Calves offered to Simhachalam temple found dead TIMES NEWS NETWORK  Visakhapatnam: The mounting toll of hapless calves offered to Lord Varaha Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy by devotees is raising a stink in the backyard of the famed Simhachalam temple. On Tuesday, a day after the Chandanotsavam, devotees were in for a rude shock when 20 calves were found dead in the temple goshala.     On May 9, eight calves were allegedly trampled to death in the same goshala, where over 1,200 animals are allegedly packed together in cramped conditions. According to sources, nearly 50 calves had died in the goshala in the last three days even as the temple management was busy sprucing up the temple for Chandanotsavam.     Shockingly, while the rotting carcasses of the dead calves were shifted to Ramanna Cheruvu, a pond near Adavivaram on the Simhachalam-Anandapuram route via Sontyam village for burial on Tuesday, the temple authorities were allegedly busy getting more burial pits dug at the same spot in anticipation of more deaths.      “The goshala was smelling foul because of the rotting carcasses, which were only removed on Tuesday afternoon. We buried almost 13 carcasses, with the remaining taken by the corporation staff,” said a worker who was burying the carcasses at Ramanna Cheruvu. He said they had dug up extra pits as they were expecting more dead animals.     When contacted, Simhachalam temple executive officer Ramachandra Mohan said, “We will take permanent measures for their protection by constructing sheds in two acres land. We will also appoint a veterinarian to provide medical aid to animals.”