A minor portion of the Eastern ‘Rajagopuram’ (gateway tower) of the world-renowned Sri Meenakshi-Sundareswarar temple was damaged, after being struck by lightning, last night.
Joint Commissioner of Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department and Temple Executive Officer P.Jayaraman, who assessed the damage, told newsmen today that only a small area of plastering of the tower had fallen off and no major damage was caused to the structure.
Already sophisticated lightning conductors were installed at the Rajagopurams in the North, East, West and South, besides the central area with each tower having one conductor to protect them. However, the magnitude of the damage would be assessed by Temple sthapathis and civil engineers, sources in the Temple said.
The Eastern Rajagopuram is the oldest towers of the temple, which was built during the Pandya dynasty by King Maravarman Sundara Pandyan during 1216-1238.
The tower is covered with several stone figures of gods, animals etc. In all, there are 10 towers in the temple complex, spread over 17 acres.