Deputy Commissioner C. Shikha held a meeting with Archaeology Department officials recently and reportedly told them that the old and ramshackle building may present an ugly picture to tourists who visit the historical temple. She also pointed out that it was unsafe to run the school in the old building and insisted that repair be taken up.
Ms. Shikha urged the Archaeological Department not to stop the Education Department from carrying out repair work.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Mysuru Zilla Panchayat P.A. Gopal, along with senior officials of the Education Department, had visited Somanathpur on Saturday evening. After a marathon meeting, senior officials of the Education department, told The Hindu that the Archaeology Department had given oral consent to repair the school building. It had also cautioned Education officials not to cause damage to the historical temple in any way during repairs. Repair to the century-old school will soon be taken up at a cost of Rs. 12 lakh, sources said. An amount of Rs. 4 lakh is kept reserved for repair of the school building under the SSA and the CEO had agreed to release an amount of Rs. 6 lakh for the repair. R. Dhruvanarayana, Chamarajanagar MP, agreed to use the remaining amount under the MPs Local Area Development fund as well.
