Heritage committee report awaited on construction of Kumbakonam temple tower: Minister
The Tamil Nadu government is awaiting a Heritage Committee report before proceeding with the construction of five tiers atop the Mottaigopuram of the Sri Aadhikumbeswarar Temple. Officials are also coordinating preparations for the 2028 Mahamagam festival, which is expected to draw 9 million pilgrims to Kumbakonam.
Why it matters
This highlights the intersection of heritage conservation, structural safety, and large-scale infrastructure planning for major religious tourism events in India.
Construction of five tiers atop the kalkaram of the Mottaigopuram of the Sri Aadhikumbeswarar Temple in Kumbakonam will be taken up based on the report to be submitted by the Heritage Committee, according to the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Minister, S. Ramesh.
He told the media at Kumbakonam on Thursday said that the Heritage Committee members had inspected the granite basement of the Mottaigopuram .
Last year, the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowment Department announced that it would take up construction of five tiers atop the 21 feet-high granite Mottaigopuram using brick and cement as the State-level and Regional-level Expert Committees have cleared the proposal.
The department, which earlier planned to raise seven-tiers, changed its decision after the National Institute of Technology, Tiruchi, which carried out the soil test, declared that it would not be safe to add a seven-tier brick and cement structure atop the age-old ‘Mottaigopuram’.
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