ALAPPUZHA: The Karthikapally taluk office which also houses the sub-treasury, the coffer of erstwhile Kayamkulam kingdom and later the coffer of the Travancore kingdom, is set to be vanished in a few days.
The Revenue Department started dismantling the decade-old building, the hub of business activity since independence, to construct a new revenue tower.
As part of demolition, the Kerala State Housing Board has started the tendering process of the old material from the building.
The seven-storey revenue tower to be constructed at a cost of over `18 crore will be the landmark of Haripad.
The Chief Judicial Magistrate court 1 located on the premises of the taluk office was dismantled on Monday. The court was shifted to the new court complex at old police station a year ago. The strongroom in the treasury would not be dismantled to uphold the historically siggnificant tradition associated with the ‘niraputhari’ ritual at Sree Subrahamanya temple at Haripad observed in the month of ‘Karkidakom’.
The paddy shrub as part of the ‘niraputhari’ ritual is kept in the strongroom, which was once the coffer of the Kayamkulam king, said treasury officer P K Vijayakumar.
The paddy shrub alongwith other pooja materials is brought from the temple in a procession and placed in the strong room. The king and other rulers believed that the ritual will fetch glory to the kingdom.
After Marthanda Varma of Travancore kingdom conquered Krishnapuram, he continued with the ritual and the same ritual continued even after Independence, Vijayakumar said.
So it was decided to keep the strongroom intact and prepared a design accommodating the century-old strongroom inside the Revenue Tower. But the temporary shifting of treasury is creating trouble for the public. They officials are yet to identify a building to run the business.