The Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) proposes to undertake various development projects at temples attached to it with the active co-operation of the Temple Advisory Committee (TAC) concerned. The TDB president was talking to the media recently after an official meeting held at Aranmula to review the utilisation of the ₹5.7 crore funds sanctioned by the Union Government under the Swadeshi Darshan Scheme for the development of the Aranmula Sree Parthasarathy Temple.
The Union government has allocated ₹100 crore under the Swadeshi Darshan Scheme for Sree Padmanabhaswami Temple in Thiruvananthapuram, Sabarimala Ayyappa Temple and the Sree Parthasarathy Temple at Aranmula. The TDB would execute various development projects at these temples in a time-bound manner, Mr. Padmakumar said.
Speaking to the media Padmakumar said that the TDB was not thinking of introducing any change in the existing customs and practices at its temples. Renovation of various temples attached to the TDB would be given top priority and the temple renovation programme would begin from Sree Parthasarathy Temple at Aranmula, he said. He said the meeting discussed various projects to be implemented on a priority basis at Aranmula and work on these would begin soon.
He also accepted that the ongoing work on the Western Gopuram of the Aranmula Temple was progressing at a snail’s pace and that they have asked the contractor to complete the work on an a war footing. If the contractor was unwilling to continue the work, the board would re-tender the work.
The money allocated 5.77 crore sanctioned under the Swadeshi Darshan Scheme, of which, 1.66 crore is for the VIP pavilion, ₹28.86 lakh for bathing ghat renovation, ₹23.36 lakh for toilet complex construction, ₹50 lakh for solar street lamps, ₹19 lakh for signboards, ₹7.5 lakh for drinking water supply, ₹3.4 lakh for sanitation, and ₹20 lakh for construction of a boathouse for the Tiruvonathoni on the Pampa river banks. Mr. Padmakumar said necessary arrangements would be made for the safe disposal of the waste generated on the temple premises during the Vallasadya.
Addressing the Media Veena George, MLA, said efforts were under way to make Aranmula a model ‘temple town’, protecting its rich cultural heritage.
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