An unidentified drone suspected of surveying the Srisailam temple premises and surroundings in the night hours has put the police and temple authorities on high alert.
The Bhramaramba Mallikarjuna Swamy Devasthanam at Srisailam is the most popular Hindu temple in Andhra Pradesh after Tirupati. The Shaivite shrine located in the Nallamala forests in the Kurnool district is visited by millions of pilgrims every year, especially from Karnataka.
According to various accounts, flying objects were sighted several times in the Srisailam skies in the past few nights.
“However, the confirmed sighting till now of a drone was only on Friday night. We have questioned some people in this connection. The investigation is on to find out the persons operating these devices and for what purpose,” Sruthi Yerragunta, DSP Atmakur told DH.
Police teams were deployed for search operations as it was reported that the suspected drones were landing in the nearby forests. The temple guards were also asked to be vigilant.
The appearance of drones in Srisailam at a time when the technology was used by terrorists to drop explosives at the Jammu air force station has caused commotion in the temple town.
“We are taking the matter seriously and have notified all the concerned, including the police and Forest Department officials,” temple executive officer KS Rama Rao told DH.
Rao said that he too spotted a “flying object” in the night sky. “It was a couple of days back. The perplexing object with blinking lights was at a high altitude. It could be a drone, jet or anything but we are proceeding with caution,” Rao said.
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The mysterious drone episode is also occurring at a time when Andhra Pradesh and Telangana governments are engaged in a tussle over the utilisation of the Krishna waters in the Srisailam reservoir nearby. Officials have, however, ruled out that angle.