No water leakage in Ramappa temple: ASI

Mulugu: The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) officials allayed the fears of water leakage in the structure of historic Ramappa temple following weeklong incessant rains. The 800-year-old architectural and engineering marvel of the Kakatiya era has made a dream entry into the elite list of UNESCO's World Heritage Sites, a year ago. Ramappa Temple, located at Palampet village in Mulugu district, 210 kms northeast of Hyderabad, was built in 1213 AD by Kakatiya general Recherla Rudra during the reign of Kakatiya king Ganapathi Deva.

A team of ASI officials led by Superintending Archaeologist (in-charge) Smitha S Kumar inspected the temple on Friday, following reports from a section of media that the roof of the shrine had developed leakage. After thoroughly checking the temple, the officials ruled out any leakage in the structure.

Speaking to media persons, Smitha said that the structure of the temple is well and truly intact despite heavy rains. "As per the structural pattern of Ramappa temple, the space between kakshana level and roof level in Mukha Mandapa is entirely open to atmosphere, due to which rainwater was splashing inside the shrine. It led to an assumption that the roof of the temple had developed a leakage.

The chajja stones of the Mukha Mandapa have widened at certain points due to wear and tear over the centuries. The splashed rainwater coming from these chajja stones appeared like that the roof was leaking," Smitha explained.

The officials urged the media not to publish unconfirmed news as it is likely to cause confusion among the people and officials concerned. In fact, the Minister for Tourism and Culture V Srinivas Goud had told the ASI officials to inspect the temple and submit a report to the government if there was any leakage after a vernacular newspaper published a report.

Responding to the media query, the officials said that development works in accordance with the norms of UNESCO have been completed with an outlay of Rs 2.5 crore in the temple. The works include construction of a compound wall on the east side, cafeteria, modern toilets, drinking water plant etc.