Covid-19: Big temple among monuments shut in Tamil Nadu

CHENNAI: The Thanjavur Big temple, the other Brihadeeswarar temple at Gangaikonda Cholapuram in Ariyalur district and the Kailasanathar Temple, at Kancheepuram, all living monuments, are likely to shut from Friday till May 15 along with other monuments and museums maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).
The group of monuments at Mamallapuram and Fort Museum in Chennai will be closed till May 15 in line with the ASI’s decision in view of the Covid surge.
Tamil Nadu has 411 monuments maintained by ASI circles headquartered at Chennai and Trichy, of which nearly 80 are living monuments. This includes St Mary's Church at Fort St. George in Chennai.
At temples maintained by the ASI, devotees will not be allowed in but poojas will continue, said an official.
Another official said clarification is being sought regarding the closure of Kailasanathar Temple at Kancheepuram that comes under the jurisdiction of Chennai Circle. “As per the order, all monuments will remain closed for public. We are awaiting further clarification,” the official said. Sources further added that all ticketed and non-ticketed monuments would be closed from Friday based on the order. Footfalls at the ticketed monuments at Mamallapuram dropped substantially over the past fortnight. The world heritage site near Chennai received hardly 1,100 and 1,800 visitors on the closed holidays on Tuesday and Wednesday. The number of visitors on holidays used to be 6,000 to 8,000 during pre-Covid times.
ASI-run monuments were first closed due to Covid-19 in March last year. While 80 monuments including the Brihadeeswarar temples in Thanjavur and Gangaikonda Cholapuram and the Kailasanathar Temple in Kancheepuram were reopened from September 1. Other monuments, including Mamallapuram, were reopened on December 14.