Sundar Narayan temple: Corona hits restoration work badly

NASHIK :

The renovation of Shri Sundar Narayan Temple, which is famous for Harihar ceremony, has been hit due to Corona crisis.

Craftsmen carving handicrafts and stones on rocks are South Indians and they are stuck in their village due to the pandemic.

As a result, the work has come to a standstill despite having received funds by the Archaeological Department for the restoration of this Peshwe-era temple.

Now that the conditions have been relaxed across the country, devotees have demanded Archaeological Department to bring back the artisans stuck at their native places to speed up its restoration work.

The beautiful Narayan temple has a Peshwa period history. The Peshwas built this temple and restored , renovated it from time to time. The temple has ancient idols of Lakshmi-Narayan.

The temple is known for its Harihar and Kirnotsav ceremonies which is held after Diwali.

However, due to lack of repairs and maintenance work in the middle period, the structure of the temple was in danger.

Three years ago, the Archaeological department had undertaken the task of renovating the temple. Craftsmen were called from South India to engrave on the stone of the temple.

From the central government’s Prasad Scheme, MP Hemant Godse had made available Rs 12 crore find to the archaeological department.

From the very beginning, the restoration work started at a snail’s pace. In the meantime Corona crisis surfaced. As a result, the stonemasons had to return to South India, completely bringing the work to a standstill.

At present, grass and vines have grown around the temple. The carved stones are scattered in the temple area. Therefore, the devotees are expressing their displeasure.