A set of three large stones, which will be used for the restoration of Veera Vasantharayar Mandapam of Sri Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple, reached Madurai from Namakkal district on Friday. This was the first load of stones to reach the district for the reconstruction work.
A portion of the Veera Vasantharayar Mandapam, which was built more than 400 years ago, was destroyed in the fire that occurred in February 2018.
The State government has allocated ₹18.10 crore to the temple administration to restore the mandapam completely.
Temple Joint Commissioner K. Chelladurai said that a committee comprising experts from Indian Institute of Technology- Madras was formed for drafting the plan for reconstruction of the mandapam. The committee had studied around 12 spots and finally decided to bring stone by quarrying from a village in Namakkal district.
“On Friday, we received the first set of the stones. Gradually, we will be receiving more loads of stones required for the work,” said Mr. Chelladurai.
Out of the ₹18 crore allocated for the budget, around ₹3 crore will be used for quarrying stones and ₹2 crore will be used for transportation.
Mr. Chelladurai said that best sculptors will restore the Mandapam without changing its originality and authenticity. “There are old photos of the mandapam and detailed drawings of the mandapam which will be used during the restoration work,” he added.
The temple consecration will be scheduled after completion of the restoration work.
