SRIRANGAM, INDIA, October 4, 2006: The mandapam (covered hall) of the 17th century Sri Ranganathaswamy has collapsed while trenches for underground drainage were being dug, temple officials said today. A retired senior official of the PWD, Kothandaraman said that the Tamil Nadu Water and Drainage Board, instead of digging trenches, should have opted for pneumatic compressors and inserting of pipes for digging such sensitive points. “It was naive on the part of the Tamil Nadu Water and Drainage Board Engineers to expect that ancient structures would have strong foundations as huge temple structures were built on shallow foundation. In those days big towers and huge walls had only sand packing for foundation. They also calculated the wind direction, rain pattern etc while constructing the big structures,” he added. The mandapam was located in the middle of the “East Mottagupuram” (unfinished tower) of the temple which was built during Nayak period.
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