An ancient temple of Lord Nageswara (Siva) buried in sand was unearthed in Penna river near Peramalla Padu village in Chejarla Mandal here on Tuesday.
The temple was well known two-three generations ago. It was filled up by the sand almost 80 years ago, locals said.
Some enthusiastic villagers collected money and started searching for this temple. It took almost one day to find out the pinnacle of the temple.
"This 200-year-old Shiva Temple was quite popular among the villagers. The elders of our village told us that this shrine was filled up with sand 75 to 80 years ago. Later, those villagers shifted to other side and the temple also ruined," said Vara Prasad, resident of Perumallapadu village.
"Then one day, a man Galipala Sudarsan initiated to bring this temple out. The sanctum sanctorum is much deeper and the area in which it was found is Mukha Mantapam. We are now planning to re-construct the temple but where it should be made is the dilemma. We have to check the condition and status of Lord Shiva's idol. We will seek advice from the elders and the priests," he added.
Locals are now trying to bring out the temple from the depths of the river bed.
( With inputs from ANI )