Devotees demand land for temple demolished during widening of road

Devotees of Sri Venkatchikottai Muniyandavar temple on Tiruchi Road near the New Bus Stand here demanded allotment of land for constructing the temple demolished on account of the road-widening project implemented by the State government.

The government officials razed down the Venkatchikottai Muniyandavar temple on Wednesday night and started pruning the banyan tree under which the temple existed. On hearing about the news of the demolition of the temple, devotees residing in the nearby Azhagammal Nagar and Thiruvalluvar Nagar gathered at the site on Thursday morning. They stopped the government officials from pruning and uprooting the banyan tree.

The devotees said that they were not objecting to the demolition of the temple but demanded that they be allowed to shift the temple to the government poromboke land available near the site. They urged the government officials not to go ahead with their action until the allotment of an alternative site for the temple, the police said.