A 73-year-old devotee’s decades-long fight to restore a historic temple tank has finally forced authorities to take action, after his protest brought the issue to their attention.
The devotee, Vasai Jayaraman, said he has been raising the issue for the past 45 years, approaching as many as 11 MLAs, several ministers and numerous officials. According to him, repeated appeals over the years failed to produce any action.
The tank, known as Sukra Theertham, is associated with a 1,450-year-old Shiva temple in the area. According to local tradition, bathing in the tank and worshipping the deity is believed to cure mental illness.
Jayaraman also said the site has religious significance, with Sage Agastya and Sukra Bhagavan believed to have worshipped here.
But the temple and its tank remain in poor condition, while the renovation has been stalled without a clear indication of when the work will be completed.
In a desperate form of protest, Jayaraman smeared the mud from the neglected tank on his own body, hoping that the authorities would finally take notice and expedite the renovation.
“I am 73 years old,” he said, appealing for the renovation to be completed soon. He said that if God had written it in his fate that he should die without seeing the renovation completed, then he would have to accept it.
His protest has now drawn the attention of the newly formed administration.
According to TVK MLA Revanth Charan, the issue came to the authorities’ attention only through Jayaraman’s protest the previous day. Officials were immediately contacted, and the Minister was informed over the phone. The Minister subsequently directed them to inspect the site.
Officials visited the temple and held discussions with the Executive Officer and other officials. The administration said it would now fix a two-to-three-month timeline for the restoration and hold discussions with the contractor on executing the work.
Officials warned that serious action would be taken if the work was not completed within the stipulated deadline.
Local residents have also raised concerns over the condition of the temple. Authorities said restoring the temple at the earliest and conducting a Kumbabhishekam before handing it back to devotees was their responsibility.
The condition of the temple tank has raised further questions. Jayaraman alleged that the tank, which was once considerably larger, has now been reduced almost to the size of a fish pond.
Authorities said they would examine the original maps and records before deciding the exact scope of the restoration, including whether additional work is required along the sides of the tank.
But Jayaraman questioned why the renovation had been allowed to remain stalled for so long.
Asked why the work had stopped, his answer was blunt: “Only God knows.”
He said there was no clear information about when the work began, when it was supposed to end, who the contractor was or what the sanctioned estimate was.
According to him, government projects normally display boards mentioning the project details, contractor, estimated cost and completion date. But he alleged that no such information was available at the site.
Calling the tank a “mystery land”, Jayaraman also questioned the movement of earth from the site.
He alleged that trucks had been taking away large quantities of soil from the tank, sometimes 10, 100 or even 200 truckloads, without residents being given a clear explanation about who was taking the soil or why.
He said repeated questions about the work had yielded no satisfactory answers.
Jayaraman also took a swipe at the road leading to the site, saying it is used by wealthy people but has nevertheless failed to attract the attention of authorities.
After 45 years of approaching 11 MLAs, ministers and officials, his demand remains unchanged: restore Sukra Theertham and complete the temple renovation before it is too late.
The administration, meanwhile, has said it will set a fresh deadline and judge itself by its actions rather than explanations for past delays.
Officials said they would not dwell on the reasons for the delays under the previous administration or blame contractors. Instead, they said they would set a new date and take action if the work failed to meet it.
“We have newly taken charge. We will show our plan through action,” he said, adding that strict action would follow if the new deadline was not met.
Subscribe to our channels on WhatsApp, Telegram, Instagram and YouTube to get the best stories of the day delivered to you personally.
