News Tamil Nadu

Portion Of Srirangam Temple Tower Crumbles And Falls, Hindus Orgs Allege HR&CE’s Negligence

August 5, 2023
The Commune

During the early hours of Saturday morning, a segment of the eastern entry tower at Srirangam Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple collapsed. The incident occurred when the temple premises were unoccupied, thus causing no injuries. Nonetheless, this unexpected occurrence has deeply unsettled the temple devotees. Curiously, the incident has unfolded during an ongoing effort to mend the first and second-level compound walls of the temple entrance.

According to a report from PTI, “A section of the eastern entrance tower of Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple in Srirangam, Tamil Nadu, collapsed earlier today.”

As reported by ABP Nadu, repair endeavors to address cracks in the first and second-level compound walls were already underway when a portion of the first-level wall crumbled.

A report by Vikatan noted that the public has been demanding that the East Gate Tower should be repaired before any accidents happen.

Devotees and social activists had demanded that Srirangam temple towers and walls should be inspected and maintenance work should be carried out. However, the temple administration did not carry out the repair work, but they propped it up with planks and poles to prevent the top layer of cement from breaking and falling down, noted the Vikatan report.

Reportdly, a tender of ₹67 lakh rupees was floated for carrying out the maintenance work. Since no one came forward to claim the tender, the temple administration had said that it would carry out the maintenance work.

Following the incident, swift action was taken by the police and other teams to clear away the debris.

The temple administration was quoted saying that repair work will be done at a cost of ₹98 lakh from the temple fund. The renovation work will be carried out in accordance with the guidelines of the expert committee consisting of sculpture experts, archeology department officials and stapatis.

However, this mishap has triggered alarm among the devotees on this Saturday. Notably, Saturdays hold a special significance for Lord Ranganathar, and this incident has left people deeply perturbed.

Hindu Munnani in a press release alleged that the incident happened because of the negligence of Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious & Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) department. State President Kadeswara Subramaniam said that despite Hindu leaders and devotees warning a few days ago about the precarious condition in which the temple tower was the HR&CE department failed to take immediate action.

Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple, situated in Srirangam at Tiruchirapalli, is a revered sanctuary dedicated to the Hindu deity Lord Ranganathar, an incarnation of Vishnu. Part of the 108 Divyadesam Vaishnavite temples of Lord Vishnu, this temple boasts a Dravidian architectural style and is extolled by the Alvars in their Naalayira Divya Prabhandam. It’s noteworthy for being the foremost of the 108 Divya Desams devoted to the deity Vishnu. References to the Srirangam temple are present in Tamil literature from the Sangam period as well as the epic Silapadikaram.

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