Minister for Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) P. K. Sekarbabu on Sunday launched the work to build the wooden temple car of the Sundareswarar temple at Kovur in Kancheepuram district. The temple car would cost ₹99 lakh of which ₹50 lakh would be provided by the department and the rest would be raised through public contributions.
The 36-foot-high, 14-foot-wide, 5-tier tall car would take a year to complete. “It has been 30 years since the temple car was brought out in procession and the old one is in a bad shape. This temple is estimated to be at least 800-years-old,” he said.
He said that the department, along with devotees, has also set the ball rolling for the conduct of kumbabhishekam of the temple, which was last conducted in 2008. A total of ₹70 lakh is the estimate for the works, including carrying out repairs to the Rajagopuram, the sannidhis of Lord Sundareswarar and Devi Soundarambikai, that of Nethra Vinayakar and Subramaniyar, and the restoration of the tank. The balalayam of the idols will commence by mid-September, he said.
