Kalmandapam works to be completed by April 14

Thiruvananthapuram: Restoration of the Kalmandapam (stone pavilion) ajdacent to Padmatheertham pond at Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple, which began on Thursday, will be completed by April 14. It will be followed by restoration work of the pond.
First, the recently demolished Kalmandapam will be restored and then other similar pavilions crumbled earlier will be renovated.According to temple authorities, there were around 11 Kalmandapams circling the pond and about six have been traced.
Temple executive officer KN Satheesh said the restoration works have begun as directed by temple administrative committee led by its chairperson Justice V Shircy. "Nirmithi Kendra has been executing the work, based on directions of Archaeology department. The pond will be restored based on technical committee report and plan chalked out earlier," he said.
"Reconstruction of the Kalmandapam will be based on its archaic value and it will take more time. It is difficult to set the exact time frame. The work has begun now with alignment correction of three layers of granite in the foundation of the structure, archaeology department director G Premkumar said. For reassembling purpose, the granite blocks in the three layers have been given identification numbers.
"Once all the dilapidated structures are restored, a report will be submitted before the Supreme Court," said district collector Biju Prabhakar, who is also a temple administrative committee member. Of Rs 1 crore granted by the government for pond restoration, Rs 50 lakh was spent for de-watering and cleansing work of the pond. About 200 loads of sand and muck from the pond was disposed of during cleansing, he added. Metal protectors were placed to prevent the collapse of structures around the pond during cleansing works.
To check waste and leachate polluting the pond, toilet adjacent to the pond has been closed. Unless the effluent flow to the pond is curbed, there was no point in carrying on the pond conservation works, officials said.
A seven-member team of traditional masons from Myladi in Tamil Nadu have been roped in for the repair works.