INDIA, July 21, 2016 (The Hindu): Each time a highway road is widened, anything in the way including temples, trees, homes, and school buildings are removed for the carriageway, with few exceptions. Recently, three temples situated adjacent to national highways have been physically lifted and moved from the roads. “We have shifted temples in Hosur, Kallakurichi and Ambur using technology. We strengthen the foundation of the temple when it is placed at a new location,” says Gurdeep Kumar, Chief Executive Engineer, TDBD Engineering Works.
The company recently received a certificate from the Limca Book of Records for lifting and moving temples at Coimbatore and Kallakurichi. S. Ravi, one of the trustees of the Maha Mariamman Temple at Kattukottai in Yaamaper, said they had visited the Ambur temple before taking the decision. “The temple was on the road and the National Highways authorities said it had to be demolished. But we were sentimentally attached to it since it was constructed by our forefathers. So we approached this company that shifted it for us. We have also performed the kumbhabhishekam of the temple and it looks new now,” he said.