CHENNAI: The Pallava-era monuments at Mamallapuram are set to be reopened next week, more than nine months after the outbreak of
Covid-19, but visitors may not be able to touch them.
The decision on the ticketed monuments maintained by
the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is part of measures to contain the spread of the virus since most visitors are curious to rub on the
granite structure to feel the texture of the 1,400-year-old structures. An inscription on the surface inside the Shore Temple has been fenced to prevent people walking over it and causing damage. The monuments are likely to be thrown open for the public on December 14 or 15.
There will be a cap on the entry of tourists, with a maximum of 2,000 individuals allowed in every day. Tickets can only be booked online through the ASI portal and the mobile phone app as offline ticket counters are unlikely to operate in the new normal. Until late March, when the lockdown triggered by the still raging Covid-19 pandemic kicked in, at least 3,000 people during the week and more than 13,000 on weekends were crowding the monuments.
After the reopening, ASI sources said, the pattern of visitors would be studied for a couple of days. People will be discourage from running their hands over the stone structures as allowing one would encourage others to do so, an official said. This is done to make the premises safe and control the spread of the virus. “The health of visitors is important. We will be putting up notice boards in this regard,” he said.
Mamallapuram, 50 km south of Chennai, is home to Unesco-tagged monuments such as Shore Temple, Five Rathas,
Krishna Butterball and Tiger Caves. Moreover, 1,000 years old inscriptions on the corridors of Shore Temple have been fenced for conservation.
S Rajavelu, adjunct faculty member of department of history,
Alagappa University and senior epigraphist, said two inscriptions of Chola King Rajaraja I found engraved on the northwest and southwest open corridor of the temple relate to settlement of oil merchants and other people in urban pockets of Mamallapuram.
A resolution passed by the local administrative bodies agreed to pay gold by merchants and retail traders of Mamallapuram. Another inscription of the same ruler dating to 1011AD records gifting of gold to three temples.