PALACODE: Tension gripped Palacode on Monday after an argument broke out between the Hindus and Muslims, of Kottai Street, over the expansion of one of the gates of the temple that lies in the locality of Muslims.
On Monday morning, renovation works were on the eastern gate of the Sri Venugopal temple, when the Muslims living nearby protested against the gate’s expansion. They argued that expanding the gate would attract an increased footfall of visitors to this entrance, which in turn could disrupt their daily lives, and sought to stall the works.
An argument ensued between the Hindus and Muslims. Palacode DSP Sindhu and the revenue team led by Tahsildar C Raja arrived at the spot and pacified the situation. While Dharmapuri SP Stephen Jesupadham told TNIE that the matter has been resolved, Revenue Divisional Officer TR Geetharani announced that a peace meeting will be held next week.
RDO Geetharani said, “The temple and the Muslim settlement are situated close to each other. Recently, the temple committee decided to renovate the temple gate, which lies across the settlement.” “This temple does not come under the Hindu Religious Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) department. Both the temple and the settlement are on government land. We have scheduled a peace meeting in the upcoming week to resolve the issue. We have also instructed the temple to stop constructions temporarily,” she added.