With one of the 114-year-old twin towers of St. Lourdes Church in the water spread area of the Stanley Reservoir reportedly damaged, members of the Salem Historical Society wanted the district administration to take concrete efforts to preserve the monument.
The British in 1923 decided to construct the Stanley Reservoir at Mettur and hence, ordered evacuation of 27 villages in the area.
The more than 300-year-old Nandi statue of Sri Jala Kandeshwarar Temple, built by Mysore Kings, and the church, built by Father Antony in 1902 were left by the villagers. The water spread area of the reservoir was about 60 square miles when the construction of the dam was completed in 1934 and both the statue and the church got submerged under the water.
ADVERTISEMENT
The church was 30-feet high while the twin towers were 30-feet high. After years of sedimentation, the church was completely accumulated with silt and only the twin towers are visible all these years when the water level drops.
The towers and statue were a major tourist attraction when the water level drops in the reservoir every year.
The top edge of the towers was visible when the water level drops below 77 feet while the top six feet of the towers were visible when the water level drops to 71 feet.
ADVERTISEMENT
A few days ago, when the level dropped to 70 feet, one tower was visible while the other was missing.
General secretary of the Society J. Barnabas told The Hindu that they were shocked to learn that one of the towers was missing. “The damage could be done by miscreants. It is also said that due to use of country-made bombs by fishermen, the towers could have been damaged,” he added. He wanted action to be taken against the miscreants for damaging the monument and also asked the district administration to protect the statue and the remaining tower.