A centuries-old temple in low-lying Kuttanad is getting the ‘raise’ it needed.
The Mankombu Sree Bhagavathy temple has been raised six feet off the ground to prevent floodwaters from inundating the structure. The work is being done without sacrificing the character of the age-old worship place.
Temple authorities said that subsidence and recurring floods had started to take a toll on the temple. “It is a 1,000-year-old temple and was prone to waterlogging. The entire facility got marooned in the 2018 floods. The temple compound getting waterlogged in the rainy seasons posed a challenge to conduct daily pujas and rituals. The believers also faced difficulty visiting the temple. The project is making progress and we hope to complete the entire work by December this year, “ said Sathyaseelan Nair, secretary, Temple Advisory Committee.
The temple comes under the Travancore Devaswom Board and the temple committee decided to lift it after getting consent from the Kerala High Court. The raising of the temple using screw jacks was completed and currently foundation reinforcement is in progress. Apart from Chuttambalam, the Gopuram will be raised six feet. Besides, kalithattu, anakottil and other structures in the compound will be renovated. The entire project is expected to cost Rs. 4.5 crore and is funded by the believers.
The project is executed by EDSS Ventures Limited. Initially, the Chuttambalam and Thirumuttam were excavated revealing the laterite foundation with granite cladding. “We cast reinforced concrete beams in order to convert the temple into a monolithic structure. Simultaneously, the interior of the temple was bored to a depth of 27m to achieve an N value >50. A total of 18 piles were bored,” said Jose Francis, chief executive officer, EDSS Ventures Limited.
Mr. Francis said the “raft with pile foundation” was designed to be incorporated as the foundation so as to withstand the perils of nature in the coming centuries. “This is considered to be the first archaeological structure to incorporate a raft with pile foundation. We also provide a warranty of 25 years,” he said.
