THANJAVUR: An enclosure is being built around the Thiruvalluvar statue, which was desecrated, in Pillayarpatti.
Construction of the enclosure commenced on Thursday.
Police, meanwhile, put up barricades at the entrance of the street where the statue stood. All those who pass through the street are being allowed only after enquiry and search of the baggage they were carrying.
The three and a half feet tall concrete statue was erected by Thenninthiya Valluvar Kula Sangam and unveiled on August 15, 2005. Locals used to celebrate Thiruvalluvar day, the next day of Pongal festival.
On November 3 this year, the statue was desecrated which created a furore across the State.
On Wednesday, another controversy broke out when the leader of a right-wing outfit draped a saffron cloth around the statue and adorned it with a garland of rudraksha beads.
Following this, the district administration controlled access to the statue to avoid untoward incidents.
On Thursday, work to construct the enclosure complete with a concrete foundation and iron cage for the statue commenced.
The enclosure would be locked and the key handed over to office-bearers the Thenninthiya Valluvar Kula Sangam, sources said.
The enclosure would be opened on special occasions like Thiruvalluvar day.
BJP cadre garland Thiruvalluvar statue
THENI: BJP cadre on Thursday washed and garlanded a statue of Tamil poet Thiruvalluvar near Periyakulam municipality building after they reportedly found a stain on it.
The cadre, led by BJP Theni parliamentary constituency in-charge Rajapandy, also performed a ‘milk abhishekam and aradhana’ to the statue. They demanded that the police take action against those who ‘desecrated’ it.