CHENNAI: Following a long legal battle, officials from the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department on Sunday demolished and removed several shops from the historic Kanniyambalam Mandapam in Kanyakumari.

The mandapam belonging to the Kanyakumari Bhagavathy Amman Temple had been inaccessible for several years after the department had permitted a private individual to build eight shops inside.

The issue had caused significant distress to devotees which led to a public interest litigation in the Madurai High Court. Subsequently, the Court ruled in favor of the devotees and ordered the demolition of the shops.

While officials attempted to hold talks and also give the traders a deadline to vacate the premises, the latter staged a protest a few days ago. When the traders refused to clear the encroachments despite warning, the officials ordered for the shops to be demolished on Sunday. Following this, police security has been beefed up in the area to prevent any untoward incidents.