The Ayyappa temple at Sabarimala will get a new mast in one year.
The Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB)’s decision to replace the existing gold-covered temple mast with a new one came in the wake of the astrological consultation (devaprasnom) held at Sabarimala in 2014. The devaprasnom prescribed replacement of the temple mast as it was decayed or damaged.
The Akhila Bharatha Ayyappa Seva Sanghom (ABASS) will offer the teakwood for the new mast, according to N. Velayudhan Nair, sanghom general secretary.
After an extensive search, the ABASS has identified a 64-year-old tree at the teak plantation (established in 1951) of the Forest Department at Vayakkara in the Naduvathumoozhy range of the Konni forest division.
A high-level TDB team led by board member P.K. Kumaran; G. Muraleekrishnan, Chief Engineer; and M.K. Raju, master carpenter; visited the teak plantation at Vayakkara to examine the tree on Saturday.
The master carpenter said the tree had a circumference of 175 cm and was 13.5 metres long. However, the selection would be finalised only after the tree was examined by renowned temple vasthu expert Kanippayur Krishnan Namboodiripad and the chief priest (Tantri) Kandararu Rajeevararu in the next few days, he said.
Cost of wood
The valuation of the teak will be carried out by the Forest Department. Sources said the cost of the wood would be around Rs.7 lakh.
The ABASS general secretary told The Hindu that the sanghom would pay the Forest Department as soon as the valuation was completed.
The tree would be cut at an auspicious time after the Tantri performed Vrikshapuja. The raw wood would be taken to Sabarimala, where it would be treated and soaked in oil for about a year, before starting the carpentry work, sources said. The new temple mast would be installed in 2016, TDB sources said.
64-year-old teak in Konni forests identified
