14 acres of encroachment cleared, new parking facility eases rush in Sathuragiri
VIRUDHUNAGAR: In a major relief for devotees visiting the Sathuragiri Sundaramahalingam Temple, a new parking facility at the Thaniparai foothills has been set up just in time for this year’s Aadi Ammavasai festival, significantly easing traffic congestion and improving access to the hill temple.
The estimated value of the reclaimed land is over Rs 15 crore. Thousands of devotees, who earlier had to park their vehicles nearly two kilometres away and depend on auto-rickshaws to reach the foothills, were able to drive up directly this year, thanks to the swift action by the Virudhunagar district administration.
The district officials reclaimed 14 acres of encroached government poramboke land in Thaniparai, which had been under illegal occupation for nearly five decades. The land was cleared within just three days ahead of the Aadi Ammavasai, following the orders of District collector N O Sukhaputra, who conducted an on-site inspection on July 17 along with revenue and forest officials.
“Most of the encroachments were private farmhouses. Around 15 such structures were removed. Earthmovers were used to level the terrain, which has now been converted into a parking zone for all types of vehicles”, an official told TNIE.
“Earlier we had to park far away and depend on share autos. Now, with the new parking facility, the journey feels safer and more convenient,” said a pilgrim from Tirunelveli.