TIRUCHY: Repair works on Srirangam Ranganathaswamy temple, a portion of which collapsed on Saturday, will take a year, HR&CE Minister PK Sekarbabu said on Tuesday. He, along with Minister for Municipal Administration KN Nehru, Tiruchy collector M Pradeep Kumar and corporation commissioner R Vaithinathan and other officials inspected the portion of the 'kodungai' on the Damodara Krishnakoil gopuram that collapsed.
"Nehru rushed to the spot the day it collapse. The stability of all 21 towers of the temple will be studied with the help of the NIT. The NIT has completed its study on the gopuram, and a detailed report will be ready in a day or two, after which we will immediately begin the repair works," Sekarbabu said.
"In 2015, Rs 34 lakh was spent for repair works in the temple. Recently, a detailed project report for repair works of Rs 94 lakh was also submitted to the HR&CE Commissioner. We have decided to carry out comprehensive repair work. An estimated Rs 2 crore will be needed. Since the temple has sufficient funds and strong patronage, works will be taken up on a war footing after consultations with Nehru," he added. Mayor Mu Anbalagan and Srirangam Joint Commissioner SS Sivaramkumar were present.
After the ministers left, BJP members led by H Raja arrived at the temple. Talking to reporters, Raja said, "Chief Minister MK Stalin should have rushed to temple when the part of the tower collapsed. The HR&CE department is ineffective and officials responsible should be suspended." Later in the evening, members of the Hindu Munnani staged a protest near Gandhi market alleging irregularities in the HR & CE department.