KARIMNAGAR: The human rights lawyer, Immaneni Rama Rao, has lodged a complaint with the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) regarding the recent fire at Sri Anjaneya Swamy temple in Kondagattu, Maliala mandal, Jagtial district.
Rama Rao alleged that the disaster, which destroyed about 32 shops on November 29, was the result of the state government’s complete failure and severe negligence by the fire department.
In the petition, he mentioned that the fire department’s response was delayed and ineffective. He claimed that after the first shop caught fire, the victims immediately called 108 emergency services, but the fire engine that departed from Jagtial broke down en route. Furthermore, a second fire engine suffered a mechanical malfunction. Although fire engines eventually arrived from Korutla and Karimnagar, the initial delays led to the massive scale of the property damage.
The human rights activist urged the NHRC to order the state government to provide `5 lakh compensation to each of the affected victims for the losses incurred due to government’s failure. He also requested the NHRC to direct the Jagtial district collector, Satya Prasad, to provide immediate relief and temporary assistance to the victims.
To prevent further accidents, the lawyer stressed the need to strengthen the fire department. He specifically appealed to the NHRC to instruct the fire department director general, Vikram Singh Maan, to immediately allocate a permanent fire station, fire engine and personnel near Kondagattu temple.
The NHRC has accepted the petition, registering the Kondagattu fire complaint under the number 27572/IN/2025 and is expected to take up the investigation soon.
Meanwhile, Choppadandi MLA Medipally Satyam, accompanied by welfare minister Adluri Laxman Kumar, met Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy and submitted a representation requesting the government to sanction `5 lakh compensation for each fire victim. The Chief Minister responded favourably to the request and has instructed officials to prepare a detailed report on the fire incident.
