Srikalahasti temple roof repair works completed

Vijayawada: The repair works to arrest water leakage from the roof of Srikalahasteeswara Swamy temple in Srikalahasti have been successfully completed. The restoration effort, covering 60,000 sqft of the temple's Sanctum Sanctorum, was undertaken by Uttara Devi Charitable Trust founder B Venkateswara Rao and his team from Pune at a cost of Rs 5 crore over a period of 14 months.As per the request of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) Mysore epigraphy director K Munirathnam Reddy and the Andhra Pradesh govt, B Venkateswara Rao and his team took up the task of laying concrete using traditional methods. "Venkateswara Rao, an ardent devotee of Lord Venkateswara, came forward to execute the repair works to arrest leakages from the roof of Srikalahasti temple. Although it was Venkateswara Rao and his team who carried out the repair works, an expert from IIT Tirupati, along with me, supervised the work, ensuring it was done using traditional methods in a foolproof manner," Munirathnam told TOI.Speaking about the traditional methods followed in the repair works, the ASI official said, "Materials such as lime, natural Arabic tree gum, hirda (kadakkai), natural jaggery, lady's finger, jute, and urad dal were used.""The temple roof, which had developed multiple seepages leading to heavy rainwater leakage and flooding in the sanctum sanctorum, can now withstand all kinds of rainfall and prevent leakages for another 200 to 300 years," Munirathnam Reddy added.Similarly, repair works are being undertaken at the famous Srisailam and Simhachalam temples, each costing Rs 5 crore, to arrest rooftop leakages. These works are also being executed by B Venkateswara Rao and his team under the supervision of ASI.
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