Battered by nature, tormented by traffic

Southern Tower (Gali Gopuram or Raja Gopuram) of the famous Amareswara Swamy temple in Amaravathi, an important pilgrimage place for both Hindus and Buddhists, was renovated in early 18th century by Vasireddy Venkatadri Nayudu, but over a period of time, it has withered and developed cracks.

Increased vehicular traffic, particularly that of trucks transporting sand from the sand reaches in Krishna river through the roads abutting the tower, and the sound and earth vibrations generated by their movements have damaged the structural integrity of the tower, experts opined.  

Exposed to the vagaries of nature, uncertainty looms over the foundation of Gali Gopuram. Consequently, the endowments department had directed the executive officer of Amareswara Swamy Devasthanam to dismantle a portion (above prastaram level and brick panels between basement and prastaram level), and the temple management has invited tenders for dimantling it.

However, the move faces stiff opposition from locals and neighbouring villages. Villagers argue that experts from IIT had inspected the temple and suggested demolition as the last resort, in their report.   

“The government, without considering other options such as repair and renovation, has straight away decided to dismantle it. Who knows when it will be reconstructed?’’ said KV Ramanamurthy, an RTI activist, who is contemplating filing a writ petition in the High Court on the issue.

Amareswara Temple Trust Board member Raja Vasireddy Muralikrishna Prasad has also decided to fight in the court against the government’s move.

The people have been staging dharnas at the temple’s executive officer’s office at regular interval for the last four months. “We will not allow demolition of the Gopuram. The government should respect people’s sentiments,” said R Gandhadhara Rao, a senior citizen of Amaravathi.

On being contacted, temple executive officer B Venkateswarlu said the expert committee that inspected the temple tower had not recommended its immediate dismantling, but orders had been issued in that direction.