Minister for Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) P.K. Sekarbabu on Saturday said that there is no paucity of funds for renovation and restoration of temples.
Speaking to presspersons after visiting four ancient temples in Tirvallur district, he said fresh estimates would be drawn up to renovate the temples at Melur, Pazhaverkadu and Thirupalaivanam. “One of the temples, Adhinarayanaperumal temple at Pazhaverkadu, has beautiful sculptures from the Ramayana,” he said.
Though the kumbabhishekam of the Thirumanangeeswarar temple in Melur, popularly known as Thiruvudaiamman temple, was held in 2017,paint and tiles had to be removed and the leaning granite pillars in the mandapams had to be strengthened. These temples would be renovated as part of a scheme to restore 1,000 temples at a cost of ₹1,500 crore, which was announced in the Assembly.
Encroachments cleared
Meanwhile, the department removed encroachments on a land belonging to Sri Parthasarathy Temple.
The 7-acre land at Puzhal had been encroached upon by an eatery selling biryani and a contractor who had put up huts for workers at the site.
“The land had been vacant for sometime now since there was not much economic activity in the area. The contractor had not taken permission for temporary use of the land. Only the front portion had been encroached upon and we removed those temporary structures,” said a source.
The land will soon be given on lease. Such open spaces near Puzhal are usually used as godowns and for parking lorries.
