Tamil Nadu - Madurai   

Float festival: dry tank, garbage greet authorities

MADURAI: The Koodal Azhagar Perumal Temple authorities had a tough time cleaning the garbage dumped into the temple tank in preparation for the float festival scheduled for Thursday.

The tank bed has been cleared of debris and wastewater let into it by shops surrounding it. Though the tank sports a better look from the entrance near Vinayaka temple, foul smell emanates from waste collected in a corner of the tank. Temple staff said that efforts would be taken to remove it by Wednesday morning. However, they fear that dumping of waste by shopkeepers around the tank would continue unabated.

A board put up by the Corporation, warning shopkeepers that littering of the tank will invite police action and fine has not deterred them one bit.

Despite the Corporation launching a networked rainwater harvesting system during the AIADMK rule to collect running water from the nearby roads, the tank remains bone dry with the presiding deity scheduled to ‘float’ around the central mandapam on Thursday.

The Madurai Readers’ Club has urged the authorities to remove the encroachers around the tank. The ramp on the entrance was being used as an open toilet by the shopkeepers, a statement from Suryanarayanan, convenor of the club, said. He demanded that the tank should be protected and its past glory restored at the earliest before it was converted into a shopping mall.

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