Ayyarmalai temple officials inspect rope car facility at Sholinghur temple

Officials inspect rope car facility at Sri Lakshminarasimhar temple in Sholinghur, near Ranipet, for upcoming Ayyarmalai temple project.

Ayyarmalai temple officials from Karur inspected the existing rope car facility at the Sri Lakshminarasimhar temple in Sholinghur town near Ranipet on Thursday. They looked into civic amenities available for pilgrims, functioning of rope car and ticketing system.

Officials of Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) said the under-construction rope car facility for Rathnagiriswarar temple on Ayyarmalai is nearing completion. Currently, work on providing basic amenities for pilgrims like resting rooms, washrooms, storage facilities are under progress. “The visit was aimed to study the successful implementation of the rope car facility at Sholinghur temple. Such site visits will help us to fill any gaps in terms of amenities for pilgrims,” said a HR&CE official.

At present, devotees to Ayyarmalai temple have to climb 1,017 steps to reach the top where the temple is located. The on-going rope car work, which is being done at a cost of ₹6.17 crore, at the foothills of the temple commenced in 2017.

At Sholinghur temple, the rope car facility was inaugurated by Chief Minister M.K. Stalin in March. During the visit, the team visited waiting halls, storage space for the personal belongings of devotees, ticketing counters, and parking space. They also saw the operation of a rope car from the basement and travelled in it to the hillock temple.