CMRL work will affect Kapaleeswarar, 7 other temples: Petitioners

CHENNAI: A petition has been filed in the Madras High Court praying to stay the Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) phase-II work in corridor IV. The petitioners, G Gouthaman, PR Ramanan and S Vijay Narayanan, said the project will adversely impact eight temples, including the Kapaleeswarar temple in Mylapore and Vadapalani Murugan temple, and sought stay until an environmental impact assessment (EIA) and social impact assessment (SIA) is carried out.

According to the petitioners, Mylapore Kapaleeswarar temple, Murugan temple, Vengeeswarar temple, Alagar Perumal temple, all three located at Vadapalani, Virugambakkam Sundaravaradharaja Perumal temple, Valasaravakkam Velveeswarar temple, Thirukachi Nambigal and Varadaraja Perumal temples and their adjacent tanks will be affected by the project.

They also prayed for orders to declare these eight temples as ancient monuments and heritage sites.
Claiming that Thirukachi Nambigal and Varadaraja Perumal temples in Poonamallee are about 1,000 years old, the petitioners noted the CMRL is going to acquire part of the temple tank for road widening. It will make the heritage structure asymmetrical and affect the rituals, they further said.