MADURAI : Corporation officials scotched reports of their unearthing a medieval pillar-like structure during the ongoing works for a multi-level car parking near Meenakshi Amman Temple. On Sunday, media outlets were abuzz with reports on the unearthing of an ancient pillar-like structure at the construction site, with some claiming it to be a part of the central prison from the Queen Mangammal (pre-British period) era.
However, City Engineer of the Madurai Corporation S Arasu said that the structure was a “test pile built by the Corporation to test and ascertain the stability and load strength of soil”. More bit on ‘test pile’ came from Assistant Engineer of the project R Murugan. “A test pile is erected to carry out pile integrity test before the construction of any structure, including bridges and buildings. The test pile (pillar) at this site that is about 14.5 foot-tall and was erected in February. It is made of cement and concrete mixture. As the construction progressed, a portion of the test pile was revealed about a month ago,” he said.
Murugan said that the works were being carried out with utmost care so as to not accidentally inflict any damage to any possible structure of historic significance, given the site’s proximity to the Meenakshi Amman Temple.
Facts suppressed fearing takeover?
However, a senior official of the State Archaeology Department said that the pillar-like structure could be from the Nayak period, going by the city’s heritage and written history. “It does not appear to be a recent concrete structure. The possibility that similar structures dating back centuries could have been demolished without anyone noticing so far cannot be ruled out,” he said.
Taking the Corporation’s explanation with a pinch of salt, he said that the civic body was in a denial mode, fearing a possible takeover of the site by the State Archaeology Department.
“They fear that the multi-crore parking lot project -- being implemented after several years of wait – could be scuttled were the Archaeology Department to take over the site and neighbouring areas,” he added.