More than a year after relaying work was taken up, the Mada Street near the famous Arunachaleswarar temple in Tiruvannamalai has become a widened concrete stretch to facilitate chariot pulling without hurdles during the Karthigai Deepam festival held from November 14 to 30 in the temple town. Officials of the State Highways, which executed the ₹15-crore project, said the widened concrete Mada Street will provide relief for the devotees on foot. “The concrete flooring of the stretch provides more durability, especially when a large number of visitors use the stretches,” K. Raghuraman, Assistant Director (AD), State Highways (Tiruvannamalai), told The Hindu.
A part of the 14-km-long girivalam path, Mada Street, spanning two kms, witnesses an average of 2,000 visitors every day. During weekends and holidays, the footfall doubles in the temple town.
Minister for Public Works, Highways, and Minor Ports E.V. Velu inspected basic amenities available on the 14-km-long Girivalam Path and the newly widened Mada Street in Tiruvannamalai town on Sunday as part of Karthigai Deepam festival. Tiruvannamalai Collector B. Murugesh was also present.
The stretch connects the temple with the rest of the town. During Maha Deepam, which falls on November 26 (Sunday), a footfall of around 42 lakh people is expected at the temple town this year. The fortnight-long festival commenced with the hoisting of the holy flag at the Arunachaleswarar temple on November 17. The holy flag was hoisted on a golden mast on the precincts of the temple. Every day, deities will be taken on procession in different chariots and mounts near the temple.
The highlight of the celebrations is the lighting of the Maha Deepam atop the 2,668-ft. hillock near the temple on November 26. This will be followed by the three-day float festival (Theppa Thiruvizha). Funded under the Chief Minister Road Development Project (CMRDP) 2022-23, the damaged bitumen Mada Street was widened from seven metres to 12 metres to utilise the unused road space. The existing narrow stormwater drain on both sides of the stretch was also widened to discharge excess rainwater and prevent inundation during monsoon. Each drain is three-foot wide and four-foot deep. Tiled footpath has been laid on the widened drain to allow pedestrians to use the space rather than walking on the carriageway. Unlike bitumen stretches, separate space, 50-cm wide, between the drain and the carriageway has been laid with pavement blocks for utility works, including electrical lines and internet cables. It will prevent unnecessary road cutting works to attend to any fault in these lines on the stretch. Officials of the State Highways said despite its huge costs, the reason behind converting the Mada Street into a concrete stretch was due to its longevity as against the shelf life of a maximum of three years for bitumen roads. Earlier, the Mada Street was re-laid every year during the festival.
