SRI NAGAR: The Raghunath Temple in Srinagar, which has been in a dilapidated state for the last 30 years, will be restored to its past glory by the end of this year and opened for devotees soon.
The Jammu and Kashmir government is undertaking the restoration work on the temple located in the sensitive and volatile downtown Srinagar.
The centuries-old heritage temple in Fateh Kadal area, on the banks of river Jhelum, is in very bad shape.
The area had a large Kashmiri Pandit population but they had to migrate en masse to Jammu and other parts of the country after the outbreak of militancy.
The Raghunath Temple, dedicated to Lord Ram, was constructed by Maharaja Gulab Singh in 1835. The work on the temple was completed in 1860 by his son Maharaja Ranbir Singh. The tourism department is undertaking the restoration work of the heritage site under the Smart City project.
“We are carrying out the repair and renovation work in the temple to restore it to its pristine glory. We are carefully restoring the Maharaja brickwork, CGI sheeting and taking all the waste out. We are trying our best and working very carefully to restore the grandeur of the temple,” said an official supervising the restoration work.
The department is also carrying out the renovation of the Jamia Masjid in Nowhatta and a church in Dalgate under the Smart City project for the beautification of Srinagar. According to the official, the renovation of Raghunath Temple will cost about `54 lakh and work is expected to be completed by November-end.