Residents of Swamimalai have called for effective steps to tap the tourism potential of the temple town and sought the intervention of the State government to scale up infrastructure around the Arulmigu Swaminatha Swamy Temple, one of the six abodes of Lord Muruga, near Kumbakonam in Thanjavur district.
It has been a long pending demand for the residents of Swamimalai for a bus stand in the town panchayat that witnesses congregations of devotees from across the State during festival occasions every year.
The condition of bus shelters in Swamimalai remains poor, said J. Deepak Vasanth, a consumer activist. The proposal to establish bus connectivity to the other five abodes of Lord Muruga from Swamimalai was mooted a few years back and shelved for various reasons. Reviving such a proposal and constructing a new bus stand at the temple town will increase the convenience of devotees and tourists from distant places.
Swamimalai witnesses heavy traffic snarls during peak hours and on festival days because of prevailing road conditions. The width of the roads in the temple town remains narrow considering the number of road users and the volume of traffic flow, said a resident.
Unregulated parking on the roads also causes further inconvenience to the tourists. Four-wheelers and tourist vehicles are parked on both sides of the road surrounding the temple. Though shopkeepers near the temple insist on creating a separate space for parking, the proposal remains unaccomplished, the resident added.
The tourism potential of Swamimalai remains untapped, observed Mr. Vasanth, and said the State government should consider implementing a special package for the temple town to upgrade infrastructure such as roads, bus stands, connectivity, and tourism facilities.
Swamimalai is a part of the Papanasam assembly constituency. When contacted, MLA and Manithaneya Makkal Katchi founder M.H. Jawahirullah told The Hindu that the Municipal Administration department is willing to construct a bus stand. The Swamimalai town panchayat council also passed a resolution in this regard. Steps are underway to identify a piece of land owned by the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department for a long-term lease to construct the bus stand.
He said a team of researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology Madras conducted a study to install lift facilities at the temple and submitted the feasibility report to the State government. The government approved the report and preparation of a detailed project report to implement the proposal is underway.
It has been decided to implement the project by utilising the funds contributed by donors at an estimated cost of ₹ 3.5 crore, he said and added that it would benefit devotees, particularly senior citizens, and is likely to be completed in a year.
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