THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The director general of tourism, Mr Satyajeet Rajan, has sought a report from the Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple executive officer V Ratheesan on the demolition of the two 'kalmandapams' near the temple pond, Padmatheerthakulam. The director general, after visiting the temple on Saturday, has also directed the executive committee to halt the work till the submission of the report.
"I was told that the temple conservation committee had given the approval to dismantle the structure. However, they have not yet shown me any record to prove that the conservation committee had indeed granted such a go-ahead," Mr Rajan said. It was a complaint filed by BJP state president Kummanam Rajasekharan that occasioned the director general's urgent visit to the state. The BJP state president had accompanied the director general to the work site. The erstwhile royal family, too, had expressed their strong disapproval of what they, and a section of devotees, called the "unscientific" dismantling of the stone structures.
Kerala State Nirmithi Kendra, the contractors of the renovation work, had used an excavator to shift the granite pillars of the 'kalmandapams' that were dismantled by stone masons to the centre of the pond. The granite stones on the northern side of the pond were also removed in similar fashion. "I was told that the granite pillars were pulled down because it had a shaky foundation," the director general of tourism said. "They told me that the pillars will be replaced once the foundation was made solid," he added.
Mr Rajan has also instructed the temple executive officer, Mr Ratheesan, to hold a review meeting at least once in two months and keep the stakeholders, especially devotees and nearby residents' associations, promptly informed of the progress in the work. Nonetheless, he said that the overall quality of the work was good.
