Consecration of Sri Rakkayi Amman Temple after renovations held

MADURAI: Minister for Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments PK Sekarbabu and Minister for Commercial Taxes and Registration P Moorthy presided over the temple consecration ceremony of Sri Rakkayi Amman Temple at Alagarmalai in Alagarkoil, Madurai on Sunday. The Ministers sat amidst the temple priests, who performed poojas and rituals on the occasion. Scores of devotees witnessed the consecration.

Subsequently, the Ministers also inspected Sri Subramanya Swamy Temple at Pazhamudircholai, the sixth abode of Lord Murugan, where works are underway to fix silver plated doors in the sanctum sanctorum. The works of silver plating on the wooden door at the sanctorum began as part of consecration inaugurated by the Ministers.

Wooden doors were readied at a cost of Rs 2 crore and silver plates weighed 250 kg. These renovation works were a part of the announcement made earlier in the Assembly for the budget 2022-23 under which thousand temples in the state would undergo renovation and maintenance at a cost of Rs 500 crore, the HR&CE Minister said.

As per the guidance of Chief Minister MK Stalin, the consecration ceremony was performed in Sri Rakkayi Amman Temple. The temple, which is the sub temple of Lord Kallalagar Temple in Alagarkoil, was renovated at a cost of Rs 25 lakh. As part of renovation works, tiles were laid, painting was done and a parapet wall was raised.

Additional Commissioner of HR&CE, R Kannan, Madurai Collector S Aneesh Sekhar, Deputy Commissioner, Kallalagar Temple, Alagarkoil, M Ramasamy and officials accompanied the Ministers.

Later, the Ministers inspected Sri Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple in Madurai city and also took stock of large stones, which would be used for erecting pillars at Veera Vasantharayar Mandapam inside the temple, at Chinna Udaippu, a village near Perungudi in Madurai, sources said.