Thekkadi, April
29, 2015
Mangala Devi Kannagi Temple can be
renovated but a sketch or portrait of the original temple is required to
restore it to its original shape, according to G. Premnath, Director,
Department of Archaeology, Kerala.
Addressing a special meeting to
discuss the arrangements made for Chitra Pournami festival at Kannagi Temple
here on Tuesday, he said that the Department of Archaeology had been studying
the temple’s history and collecting other details. The only evidence for the
temple available in Tamil literature was in Silappathikaram. The temple was
constructed 1,800 years ago and the structure was now in a dilapidated
condition, he added.
“We cannot renovate the temple by
simply assembling scattered stones on the temple campus. A portrait or drawing
is essential to restore it. A portrait will be useful in renovating the temple
properly. To begin with, maintenance can be done to protect the temple from
further damage,” he said.
Periyar Tiger Reserve (PTR) Deputy
Director Sanjay Kumar said that renovation or maintenance could not be
undertaken as it was within the PTR. Prior permission from the Supreme Court,
Union Ministry of Environment and Forests and National Board for Wild Life was
essential before undertaking renovation work.
If the Department of Archaeology and
the government obtained clearance from these agencies, the temple could be
renovated, he added.
Later, Theni and Idukki Collectors N.
Venkatachalam and V. Ratheesan decided to convene a special meeting after
Chitra Pournami festival. (Already, Mangala Devi Kannagi Trust had filed a case
for renovation of temple.) Even as the administration in Idukki and Theni
districts had inalised plans for the forthcoming festival in the first meeting,
it convened a second meeting on Tuesday as some devotees’ organisations in
Kerala complained that they were not invited for the first meeting. Idukki MLA
Biju Mol protested for not being invitedher for the meeting. But she did not
attend.
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