Work for new chariot at Rockfort temple inaugurated

Trichy: School education minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi on Friday inaugurated work for a new chariot at the Trichy Rockfort Thayumanaswamy Temple, to be made at a cost of 58.7 lakh.The existing chariot had been damaged and was no longer fit for use. Following this, a decision was taken to construct a new chariot.Accordingly, a private company came forward to sponsor the new chariot, sources said. The chariot, measuring 13 feet in width and 29 feet in height, will be designed and crafted by traditional wood sculptors from Arumbavur in Perambalur district. The inaugural ceremony for the project was held at the Utsavar Mandapam of the Manikka Vinayagar shrine at Rockfort on Friday.Later, the minister, accompanied by Trichy East DMK MLA Inigo Irudayaraj, inaugurated a car parking facility developed by Trichy corporation for devotees near the Rockfort hillock. The parking lot, located about 300m from the temple's entry gate, can be accessed via East Andar Street and Babu Road. In the absence of a dedicated parking facility, visitors had been parking vehicles on residential streets, leading to frequent altercations between residents and tourists.Subsequently, the minister also inaugurated a slew of health facilities at Kattur, Ariyamangalam and Ponmalaipatti.