The district administration has authorised the restoration and renovation of major temples on the Mysuru palace premises that are managed by the Muzrai Department.
This is the first time in recent years that the restoration measures have been approved on this scale and will extend the lifespan of the structures, some of which have a hoary past.
While Shwetha Varahaswami temple has been allocated ₹45 lakh for the work, ₹18 lakh has been sanctioned for the restoration of Prasanna Krishnaswamy temple. The Shwetha Varahaswami temple was originally constructed during the period of Chikkadevaraja Wadiyar who regined from 1673 to 1704 A.D. but was rebuilt in 1809. The Prasanna Krishnaswamy temple was completed in 1829 A.D.
Similarly, the conservation of Anjaneyaswamy and Ganapathi temples have been allotted ₹8.5 lakh, while ₹16 lakh has been released for the restoration of Chandramouleshwara temple.
The restoration of Bhuvaneshwari temple is expected to cost ₹68 lakh while the restoration of Gayatatridevi temple is estimated to cost the authorities around ₹77 lakh. These two temples are relatively recent and were completed in the early 1950s.
The single largest chunk of allocation has gone to Trinayaneshwaraswami temple whose restoration will cost ₹84 lakh, according to authorities. This temple is said to have existed since the 16th century A.D.
Of the seven temples, the work on the first phase of the restoration has been completed in case of Shwetha Varahaswami temple and Gayatridevi temple and the new allocation is for the second phase of the civil works.
Three months
The district administration has notified that the restoration works of all the temples should commence by the end of February and has set a time frame of three months for their completion. The civil works will be subjected to third party inspection to ascertain the quality of the restoration undertaken and would be audited by experts before the release of final instalment of the funds.
The Deputy Commissioner, who is also the administrator of the Chamundeshwari Temple, has streamlined the temple management atop the Chamundi Hills. Besides introducing a few new measures, it has been decided to offer breakfast and dinner for dasoha or mass feeding of the devotees. This is in addition to lunch which was being served as part of Dasoha, all these years. Breakfast will be served from 7.30 a.m. to 10 a.m. and dinner from 7.30 p.m. to 9 p.m. with effect from March 1 and it will be open only to pilgrims and tourists who visit the temple and not local residents and the vendors.
