Chola temple turns into swimming pool after rain
MT.Saju@timesgroup.com
Chennai:4.12.2019
The Airavatesvara temple at Darasuram in Thanjavur district, a UNESCO world heritage site, turns into a swimming pool every time there is a heavy spell of rain. Local children swim in the flooded corridors and interiors of this 12th centry temple near Kumbakonam built by Rajaraja Chola II, who ruled the region from 1146AD to 1173AD. The children have a good time, but the visitors are not amused. If anyone has to enjoy the architectural marvel of the temple when its flooded, he has no option but to stand in knee-deep water.
Rampant urbanisation and encroachments have blocked the natural flow of water during the rains, and of late the interior of the temple gets inundated regularly. Paranthagan Tamilselvam, a heritage enthusiast, said he, along with some locals, pumped out the water from the interiors of the temple in 2017 and 2018. The recent rains have added to the woes.
Neither the Archaeological Survey of India, which maintains the temple, nor the state government listen to the repeated requests from the people to desilt the temple tank, which is situated 1km away from Arasalar River, a tributary of the Cauvery.
The temple was constructed more than 1,000 years ago, and so the height of the area around it has gradually gone up due to land-filling over the years. This resulted in the temple being in the low-lying area where water accumulates. Tamilselvam said, “It’s high time that the temple tank is deepened so that the water from the temple flows into it. We can connect a channel between the tank and the nearby Arasalar so that water gets drained out fast,” he said. The Airavatesvara temple is among the three temples — besides Brihadisvara temple in Thanjavur and the temple in Gangaikonda Cholapuram — considered as the “great living Chola temples” under the UNESCO world heritage site.
UNDER WATER: People wade through the flooded courtyard of the Airavatesvara temple in Darasuram
MT.Saju@timesgroup.com
Chennai:4.12.2019
The Airavatesvara temple at Darasuram in Thanjavur district, a UNESCO world heritage site, turns into a swimming pool every time there is a heavy spell of rain. Local children swim in the flooded corridors and interiors of this 12th centry temple near Kumbakonam built by Rajaraja Chola II, who ruled the region from 1146AD to 1173AD. The children have a good time, but the visitors are not amused. If anyone has to enjoy the architectural marvel of the temple when its flooded, he has no option but to stand in knee-deep water.
Rampant urbanisation and encroachments have blocked the natural flow of water during the rains, and of late the interior of the temple gets inundated regularly. Paranthagan Tamilselvam, a heritage enthusiast, said he, along with some locals, pumped out the water from the interiors of the temple in 2017 and 2018. The recent rains have added to the woes.
Neither the Archaeological Survey of India, which maintains the temple, nor the state government listen to the repeated requests from the people to desilt the temple tank, which is situated 1km away from Arasalar River, a tributary of the Cauvery.
The temple was constructed more than 1,000 years ago, and so the height of the area around it has gradually gone up due to land-filling over the years. This resulted in the temple being in the low-lying area where water accumulates. Tamilselvam said, “It’s high time that the temple tank is deepened so that the water from the temple flows into it. We can connect a channel between the tank and the nearby Arasalar so that water gets drained out fast,” he said. The Airavatesvara temple is among the three temples — besides Brihadisvara temple in Thanjavur and the temple in Gangaikonda Cholapuram — considered as the “great living Chola temples” under the UNESCO world heritage site.
UNDER WATER: People wade through the flooded courtyard of the Airavatesvara temple in Darasuram
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