Sri Neelakanda Swami Temple to be renovated on an outlay of ₹1.85 crore

Govt. keen on conducting kumbabhishekam of the 1,700-year-old temple in Padmanabhapuram

Renovation of the 1,700-year-old Sri Neelakanda Swami Temple in Padmanabhapuram near here will be taken-up shortly as the Tamil Nadu Government is keen on conducting the ‘kumbabhishekam’ of the temple in near future, Minister for Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowment P. K. Sekar Babu has said.

Speaking to reporters here on Monday after inspecting a few temples in the district, Mr. Sekar Babu said he was visiting all the districts to identify the temples for which ‘kubhabishekam’ was not conducted even after a century. The 1,700-year-old Sri Neelakanda Swami Temple in Padmanabhapuram, one of the 12 prime ‘Sivalayams’ of Kanniyakumari district, would be renovated on an outlay of ₹1.85 crore.

The 5-level tower, tank mandapam, compound walls, flag-mast etc. would get renovated under this programme before the ‘kumbhabishekam’. Prior to the commencement of this exercise, the roads leading to this temple would be relaid and the temple’s tank desilted.

The Department of Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowment would soon appoint more priests and workers in the new-look temple, he informed.

The Minister said the renovation of Sri Athikesava Perumal Temple in Thiruvattar, which was getting dragged since 2010, would be completed on an outlay of ₹6.88 crore so as to conduct the ‘kumbabhishekam’ of the shrine before the end of this year.

Mr. Sekar Babu informed that Chief Minister M. K. Stalin would shortly make an announcement about one-time, three-time and six-time puja in the HR and CE temples even in the temples that did not have significant revenue.

After inspecting the roof of Mandaikaadu Sri Bhagavathi Amman Temple, which got damaged in the recent fire accident, Mr. Sekar Babu asked the HR and CE officials to expedite the repairing work.

Minister for Information Technology T. Mano Thangaraj, HR and CE Commissioner J. Kumaragurubaran and District Collector M. Aravind accompanied Mr. Sekar Babu during the inspection.

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