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The Hindu
5 hours ago
- Automotive
- The Hindu
Tiruvannamalai Corporation to build multi-level car parks for pilgrims near Arunachaleshwara temple
The Tiruvannamalai Corporation plans to set up multi-level modular car parking facilities, mainly for pilgrims, near the Arunachaleshwara temple to prevent haphazard parking on the town's key stretches and narrow streets. Officials said the civic body had selected at least five spots near Mada Streets around the temple for the new facilities as it would be convenient for visitors to have a place to park their vehicles safely. A nominal fee will be charged for the use of the facilities. 'Modalities of the new facility are being worked out. The estimated cost of the new multi-level parking will be around ₹1 crore,' S. Selva Balaji, Commissioner, Tiruvannamalai Corporation, told The Hindu. At present, Tiruvannamalai town gets around 3 lakh visitors on Chitra Pournami days and 1.5 lakh tourists on weekends. During the Maha Deepam festival last December, around 40 lakh visitors came to the town. Most pilgrims, especially from Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, come in cabs and cars. Residents said many cars that had other State number plates were parked on the town's key stretches and narrow streets. Such illegal parking is causing traffic congestion, locals said. 'Most of these vehicles are parked during night to evade traffic police and residents' attention. Due to the blocked roads, ambulances have sometimes had trouble reaching patients during emergencies,' said P. Bhaskan, secretary, Tiruvannamalai All Traders' Association. Officials said that the the parking facilities would afford better utilisation of the available space. The new facility will be modular, which is a detachable one. Such a modular parking facility can be relocated depending on needs during festival seasons, such as Maha Deepam. Most of the open land within civic body limits comes under the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR and CE) Department. Revenue officials have also removed encroachments on 9.5 acres, which belongs to the HR and CE Department, on the Girivalam path. A rent-free land will be provided for the new facility. Each facility will have 10 floors with on an average 10 vehicles can be parked on each floor. As per traffic police study, around 200-300 cars come to the town every day on pilgrimage. Such a parking facility will decongest the town and offer more space for both pedestrians and motorists. Other vehicles including tourist vans and buses will be allowed to park on designated temporary parking lots on the outskirts of the town.
The Hindu
5 days ago
- The Hindu
Tiruvannamalai Corporation plans to build OHTs to provide uninterrupted water supply on Girivalam path
The Tiruvannamalai Corporation plans to construct at least two large overhead tanks (OHTs) on 14-km-long Girivalam Path near Arunachaleshwara temple soon to provide uninterrupted water supply to washrooms used by pilgrims along the route. Officials of Tiruvannamalai Corporation said that existing civic amenities, mainly washrooms and water taps, remain inadequate due to the rising number of footfalls to the temple town, especially after the pandemic. 'Water supply especially to washrooms on Girivalam path remains the top priority due to a steady increase in pilgrim flow to the temple town. Water sources are also being identified for the purpose,' S. Selva Balaji, Commissioner, Tiruvannamalai Corporation, told The Hindu. On an average, the town gets around three lakh visitors on Chitra Pournami days and 1.5 lakh tourists on weekends. During Karthigai Deepam festival last December (2024), around 40 lakh visitors attended it on Maha Deepam day alone. Corporation officials said that temple and Girivalam path is covered by Adinamalai reserve forest (RF), which comprises around 900 hectares, and a home for spotted deer, wild boar, peacocks, wild cats and rabbits. Any open defecation on the route will not be unhygienic but also pose a threat to wild species in the forests. On Tuesday, along with Corporation Commissioner Mr. Balaji, Collector K. Tharpagaraj inspected temple, Girivalam path and surrounding areas on providing additional civic amenities to pilgrims. At present, the path has 57 washrooms including 35 of them were built by the District Rural Development Agency (DRDA). Most of the washrooms are in existence since 2002 when the path got its first batch of four toilets for pilgrims. Since then, mobile washrooms especially during festival seasons were hired on rental basis by the civic body. Corporation officials said that an additional 223 new washrooms on the path will be built in the coming months under CSR initiative by public undertakings like BHEL, NLC and ONGC. In other words, each washroom, on an average, will have a space of 50 metres between each other. The civic body plans to build at least two OHTs at a cost of Rs 30 crore for the purpose. Each tank will have a capacity of one lakh litres. Sathanur dam and Samuthiram lake will provide water for the new facility. Currently, washrooms on the path are maintained with around one MLD (millions of liters per day) of water as against the actual need of four MLD. Borewells remain a key water source for it. The civic body gets around 22 MLD for its domestic needs and other purposes from these two water bodies every day. A small share of water from these water bodies will be diverted to new washrooms on the path, Corporation officials said.
