Its official now. Renovation and beautification work at Pahari Mandir will commence from April 21. The decision has been taken on Tuesday in the general meeting of the Technical and Renovation Committee of Pahari Mandir. The committee finalised the map for changing the structure of the famous tample. “Of all the five designs one has been passed with voice vote. So the renovation work will begin from April 21 on the auspicious day of ‘Akshya Tritiya’,” said SDO Ranchi, Amit Kumar.
The renovation work will begin with removing few structures without disturbing the sanctum sanctorum and the existing structure that houses idols of different gods and goddess will be repositioned in a bigger hall of 7,000 to 8,000-sqft. In the renovated temple, lord Shiva will be at the centre surrounded by the idols of all deities. The map that was cleared by the committee has been prepared by Delhi based Architect, Vishal Sharma. However the change is too miniscule as the lotus shape has been replaced by a doom shape structure in the amended map.
“The present map has been prepared by making certain amendments which we wanted the architect to do in the previous meeting. The present structure will be removed and new design for structures will be available in one month,” said member of the committee, Prem Shankar.
The design comprises creating all modern facilities such as suitable entrance and exit points, parking space for devotees coming to the temple every year during ‘Shrawani Mela’. Apart from basic facilities the design includes residence for monks living in the temple premises, library, dedicated space for prashad distribution making proper use of the roads around the Pahari temple. The grand plans for renovation also envisages special facilities like stairs and escalator for old-age people and disabled to help them reach the sanctorum.
Interestingly, the renovation work will be expanded in later stages to beautify the 26-acre premise that sits on a giant rock structure. According to preliminary estimates the cost of beautification would be Rs 10-crore and will take at least three-years to complete.