MLCP mooted for Srirangam temple on corpn’s unused land

Trichy: A year after Trichy corporation retrieved its disputed property on Amma Mandapam road near Srirangam police station and rajagopuram of Ranganathaswamy temple, and demolished it, the site remains underutilized as a parking lot even as streets around the temple reel under random on-street parking.

With the iconic temple lacking a dedicated parking lot, residents are demanding a multi-level car parking (MLCP) facility at the site for devotees.Around 10,000 devotees visit Srirangam temple during weekdays, and 25,000 on weekends and auspicious days. This goes up to 2 lakh devotees a day during Vaikunta Ekadasi. Temple sources said at least 500 tourist vehicles enter Srirangam island. Vacant sites and residential streets around the temple complex are used for parking cars and tourist buses, resulting in frequent skirmishes.The corporation’s property adjacent to Srirangam police station has remained vacant for a year now. It was initially chosen for a new pilgrim accommodation centre, but residents who are peeved with the traffic congestion say a solution is long due. It is in this backdrop that temple authorities and residents are pressuring HR&CE and Trichy corporation to jointly develop an MLCP at the 6,000 square feet site.“A multi-level parking space with a sanitary complex will help devotees from other districts and states.

At present, the land and road connecting it right in front of the rajagopuram is exploited by Srirangam police station to park accident-hit vehicles,” Suresh Venkatachalam, president, Srirangam Nagara Nalasangam, said.HR&CE officials backed the residents’ demand since the site is less than 100 metres away from the temple complex’s main entrance. They also urged authorities to free the two-lane road before the rajagopuram, connecting Amma Mandapam on Cauvery river bank.

The road is encroached for on-street parking.Residents have also sought a check dam with a connecting road between the north gate of Srirangam temple and Nochiyam village on Trichy-Namakkal highway as part of decongesting Srirangam. “The site retrieved on Amma Mandapam road for pilgrims’ accommodation facility was put on hold for want of funds. MLCP can be a suitable solution too,” a Trichy corporation official said.