The Tiruchi Corporation has urged the Department of Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowment (HR&CE) to allot 6.5 acres of land in Srirangam in lieu of the land given for the construction of Yatri Nivas.
An official communication has been sent to the Commissioner of the HR&CE in Chennai to this effect. Detailing the sequences that led to the allocation of 6.5 acres of land to the HR&CE on the Panchakarai Road on the southern banks of the Kollidam in Srirangam in 2012 for the construction of Yatri Nivas, which was built after former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa won from Srirangam constituency in 2011, the communication has sought the HR&CE to transfer a piece of land equivalent to it.
A senior official of the Corporation told The Hindu that the HR&CE committed to transfer a piece of land to the Corporation in Srirangam while the request was made when a plan was mooted to build Yatri Nivas. The Corporation transferred the land so as to built an affordable accommodation to the devotees visiting Sri Ranganathaswami Temple in Srirangam.
He said that the number of vehicles carrying devotees from different parts of the country to Srirangam had been going up rapidly. But, there was no established parking lot to accommodate the vehicles. The Corporation made several attempts to build parking lots in the past. But, it could not succeed in its efforts as it had no suitable land in any parts of Srirangam.
The Corporation was badly in a need of suitable land. It was with the aim of providing a safe and secure infrastructure for the tourists and devotees to park their vehicles, it had urged the HR&CE to allot a piece of land. About six acres just opposite the Yatri Nivas had been identified for setting up a parking lot. Hence, a communication had been to the HR&CE to allot the land.
