NIT to study stability of all 21 temple towers

Trichy: The National Institute of Technology-Trichy (NIT-T) will be preparing stability reports for all the 21 gopurams (towers) of the Arulmigu Ranganathaswamy temple in Srirangam, after a portion of one of the gopurams collapsed a few days ago. Minister for Hindu religious and charitable endowments (HR&CE) department P K Sekar Babu said this after inspecting the damaged Damodara Krishnankoil gopuram at the temple on Tuesday. While a team of experts from NIT Trichy had inspected the gopuram, the minister added that the stability of the remaining 20 gopurams will also be studied to initiate maintenance work, if required.“An order was issued to study all 21 gopurams in the temple through the NIT Trichy to examine the stability of the structures. A stability report on the damaged gopuram is expected from the NIT in the next few days,” Babu told reporters. Official sources said that technical inspection to prepare stability reports for the other 20 gopurams would take 15-20 days. Recently, the HR&CE department sanctioned 94 lakh to strengthen the Damodara Krishnankoil gopuram. However, as wooden planks in the three tiers of the gopuram were in tatters, the minister said that the entire gopuram is to be renovated. The cost of renovation is estimated at 2 crore. “We will finalise whether the work would be taken up with temple funds or through donors. Strengthening work would commence on a war-footing,” the minister added. The work is expected to go on for a year since the process involves restoring the intricate sculptures. HR&CE officials said that the regional Sthapathi had inspected the damaged gopuram. A regional committee will be convened to suggest a method for strengthening the gopuram without altering the architectural heritage.
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