Srirangam gets the much-needed facelift

North Uthira Street, South Uthira Street, East Uthira Street and West Street among the roads that have been spruced up; about 5,000 tonnes of garbage cleared from helipad site in two days

A relaid road in Srirangam | Photo Credit: R. Selva Muthu Kumar

The streets around Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple in Srirangam have got the much-needed facelift, thanks to the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the temple town on Saturday.

Tiruchi City Corporation had no plan to relay the roads in Srirangam until the second week of January. Similarly, there was no plan to develop the vacant land in front of the Yatri Nivas on the Panchakarai Road.

The officials did not have much time as the district administration received the communication about the visit of Mr. Modi to Srirangam only about a week in advance. The official machinery, including the Corporation and the Highways Department, swung into action just three days prior to Mr. Modi’s visit, a civic official said.

The officials worked day and night to set the basic infrastructure, mainly roads, in order. Now, the important roads in Srirangam have been given a facelift. North Uthira Street, South Uthira Street, East Uthira Street and West Street are among the roads that have been spruced up. Similarly, the approach road leading to North Gate from the Panchakarai has been relaid.

More importantly, the six-acre plot, owned by the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowment Department on Panchakarai, has been cleaned up by clearing the bushes, garbage and other waste while building the helipads for Mr. Modi. Three helipads were established at the plot.

“With the establishment of three helipads, the open space looks like a mini runway. The entire area has been cleaned. It can be used for multipurposes,” said the official. He said that about 5,000 tonnes of garbage was removed and transported to dumping yards from the open plot within two days. A large number of sanitation workers were involved in the cleaning drive.

Parking lot

He said the plot was used as a temporary parking lot during the annual 22-day Vaikunda Ekadasi festival. It could be made as a permanent parking lot for the cars and buses of devotees.

The Corporation had sent a proposal to the administration of Sri Ranganthaswamy Temple to hand over the six-acre plot to the civic body for establishing a parking lot. Steps would be taken to expedite the process, the official added.