Authorities and officials of the Meenakshi Sundareshwarar Temple on Friday carried out an inspection of the Rajagopuram which suffered a minor damage after lightning struck it during the heavy downpour in the city on Thursday night.
A small part of the top portion of the east tower of the Swami Sannidhi suffered damage under the impact of the lightning and pieces of plaster subsequently fell on East Chithirai Street at around 8.45 p.m. on Thursday.
Following the inspection of the temple tower, Karumuttu T. Kannan, the ‘Thakkar’ (Fit Person) of the temple said that there was no major damage and devotees need not worry. “The super structure of the tower is intact. Minor damages have been ascertained and restoration work will start immediately,” he said. A ‘Prayaschitha Homam’ was also conducted on Friday morning on the temple premises. Joint Commissioner of Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department and Executive Officer P. Jayaraman said that the lightning conductor fixed on the east tower recorded four heavy strikes of lightning during the previous night.
“The presence of the lightning conductor on the east tower averted a major damage,” he said. Lightning conductors were installed on the towers of the north, east, west, south and central areas in 2011 to protect the ancient temple spread over 17 acres.
The city received nearly 32 mm of rainfall on Thursday night. The heavy rainfall also resulted in damage to a power transformer on East Chithirai Street outside the temple due to which the area did not have power during Friday morning.
