A view of Sri Bheemeswara Swamy temple at Draksharamam village in East Godavari district. It is a protected monument.
| Photo Credit: T. APPALA NAIDU
A century-old Shiva Lingam in Draksharamam in Ambedkar Konaseema district was found vandalised on Tuesday (December 30, 2025), creating a stir among the devotees.
According to police, unidentified miscreants vandalised the Shiva Lingam in the temple pond on the rear side of the Draksharamam temple late Monday midnight. The temple, popular as Sri Bhimeswara Swamy Temple, is one of the Pancharama temple dedicated to Lord Shiva (Bhimeswara Swamy) and Goddess Manikyamba.
Devotees offer prayers to the Shiva Lingam and take a dip at the ‘koneru’, which is on the banks of river Godavari.
Devotees saw the vandalised Shiva Lingam on Tuesday morning and informed the temple priests. Superintendent of Police Rahul Meena, who rushed to the spot, said four teams have been formed to nab the culprits. Police are verifying the CCTV footage nearby the temple as part of their probe.
Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, who is abroad on a personal visit, called Endowments Minister Anam Ramnarayana Reddy late Tuesday night to enquire about the incident. Mr. Ramnarayana Reddy informed the Chief Minister that he had spoken with the district collector and SP and a new Shiva Lingam was consecrated in place of the vandalised one. Mr Naidu directed Police to nab the culprits at the earliest.
In a statement condemning the vandalism, Mr. Ramnarayana Reddy asked officials to take steps to increase security in the temple precincts to avert such incidents in future. He said the temple comes under the purview of Archeology department and an action plan will be chalked out to have better coordination between police and archeology department.
The Minister said the State government will take all possible steps to protect the sanctity of temples.
Published – December 31, 2025 11:05 am IST
