THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Tourism director-general Satyajeet Rajan has sought a report from the executive officer of Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple regarding the dismantling of stone mandaps on the banks of the Padmatheertham pond during renovation work.
Rajan, who visited the site on Saturday, later told the media that he had ordered a temporary halt to the work. “The report from executive officer V Ratheesan is expected in a week’s time,” he said.He had inspected the site following a complaint filed by BJP state president Kummanam Rajasekharan.
However, Rajan said he was given to understand that the stone structures were dismantled as their foundations were crumbling. Both structures that were dismantled were to be reconstructed using the same stones, he said. This is not the first time that the stone mandaps here have become the focus of a controversy. In 2016, the dismantling of the structure had kicked up a similar row.