With the plan for the restoration of the Padmatheertham pond running into rough weather on Saturday, after the dismantling of two ‘Kalmandapams’ (stone structure), the rest of the work will be carried out only after arriving at a consensus with the parties concerned.
A meeting of the conservation committee, temple administration committee, members of the erstwhile Travancore Royal family, and others will be held on Monday to decide on the future course of action.
According to V. Ratheesan, Executive Officer of the Temple Administration Committee, the conservation committee had earlier deliberated the dismantling and restoration of the ‘Kalmandapams.’
“There are eight such ‘Kalmandapams’ at Padmatheertham. Some of them, especially to the northern side, are in a pretty precarious position now, with weak basements. It might collapse in a few years. So, there is a need to restore them. In the meeting, we had agreed to dismantle and restore three of them. The same stones will be used for the restoration and the stones are numbered before dismantling,” he said.
Mr. Ratheesan said those executing the project on the ground should have taken care to dismantle one ‘Kalmandapam’ first, complete the work and presented it first, so that everyone involved was convinced on the effectiveness of the work.
Nirmithi Kendra
The Nirmithi Kendra has taken up the restoration work. He said the work had to be completed before monsoon.
The foundations of the ‘thanthrimadom’ near the West entrance of the temple are in a dilapidated state.
The pond wall adjacent to a wedding hall is also in a crumbled state.
On Saturday, local people had gathered in protest after the two ‘Kalmandapams’ and a part of the third one was dismantled.
Members of the erstwhile Travancore Royal family visited the pond on Sunday.
