'Enough' govt aid for Shivaji temple soon

Mumbai: The state government on Wednesday said it would provide enough funds for the maintenance of the Shivrajeshwar temple at Sindhudurg Fort in Malwan. At present, the government disburses Rs5,029annually for the maintenance of the 345-year-old temple. In June last year, DNA had published a report stating that the only temple in the state dedicated to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was on the verge of collapse due to lack of maintenance.

“At present we are paying the electricity bill of the Shivrajeshwar temple. But now we will provide as much fund as is needed for its maintenance,” minister of state for tourism Varsha Gaikwad told the legislative council.

The dilapidated condition of the temple was raised by Shiv Sena’s Parshuram Uparkar through a calling attention motion. “The Sindhudurg Fort has leakages at 12 places and its walls have cracks at four places,” he said.While the Fort is under the supervision of the Archaeological Survey of India, the temple is managed by a trust under by the state’s public works department. “We will initiate a procedure to take over the Sindhudurg and Vijaydurg Forts from the ASI,” said Gaikwad.