Negligence may send historic temple into history

​Palempet (Warangal): Standing amid lush green serene surroundings in the vicinity of a lake the historic Ramappa temple at Palampet of Venkatapur mandal in Warangal district evokes admiration among the visitors.

The temple, which endured vagaries of nature for 800 years, is now facing threat due to human ignorance and negligence. Lack of improper maintenance over the past decades and blasting works for construction of tunnel to lay pipeline as part of Devadula lift irrigation project made the structure vulnerable.

The underground blasting works for the 58 km-long tunnel to lay pipeline of eight metre diameter between Mulug and Dharmasagar mandals and designed to pass at a distance of 600 metres near the temple for which works began in 2011reportedly rocked the temple. Following objections from local residents, leaders and Ramappa Parirakshana Samithi in 2012,

Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), NGRI and Kakatiya Heritage Trust conducted studies to access the impact of the high-intensity blasting of rocks to dig the tunnel. Cautioning the contracting agency executing tunnel works, the ASI served a notice to stop the works but it continued until the funds crunch hit the project bringing it to halt.

Nonetheless, the damage has already been caused to the structure. Leakage from the roof during rainy season forced closure of ‘Somasutram’, a vent that allows the liquids, used to perform ‘Abishekam’ to the presiding deity Ramalingeshwara Swamy to go out, since last year.

With Somasutram getting clogged the deity sans ‘Abishekam’ for the past three years much to the dismay of the devotees. “The problem is severe during ‘Sravana’ and ‘Kartika’, the Telugu months considered auspicious and during which devotees throng the temple in huge numbers to offer prayers,” said temple priest Mohanapumatam Uma Shanker to The Hans India.

“The temple staff has to lift water and other liquids used for Abishekam manually and pour out,” the priest said. NRIs from California, USA, Tirunahari Ashwin and Dasyam Rajani expressed anguish at the leaking of water from the temple roof. “The temple is a marvellous structure; it needs to be persevered for future generations” the NRIs said.

The state government spends so much money why is it not coming forward to take up urgent measures to carry out repairing works in a proper manner, asked a woman devotee G Chayadevi of Hanamkonda who came here to visit the temple.

Archeological Survey of India conservation assistant M Mallesham told The Hans India that last year they had filled up air cracks developed on the temple roof using lime mortar. But the cracks persisted.

An ASI expert team visited the temple last week to study nature of the cracks and to decide steps needed to seal them. The works would begin within this week to fill up the cracks and there is no shortage of funds, he added.

Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) Warangal chapter convener Prof. M Panduranga Rao said the work of sealing the air cracks has been handed over to an agency Rohsnitech Civil Services led by Murthy Raju.

It is proposed to remove lime mortar on the roof replacing it with four different layers of light weight material instead of the lime. Poly glass sheets, prime seal, one coat of new coat (heavy duty micro-fibrous reinforce acrylic) and fibre glass mesh could seal even 2 mm cracks, Prof. Panduranga Rao said.