Restoration of collapsed pavilion at Hampi’s Virupaksha temple to begin soon: ASI

An ASI official said that the restoration of the pavilion was on the cards but it collapsed after the torrential rains Tuesday night.

“The restoration work will begin soon after completely dismantling the pavilion by tomorrow. The same dismantled stones will be used to restore the pavilion on priority. The restoration work for the temple is underway in three phases (across the north and south sides) and we have already completed two phases. The cost required to restore the collapsed pavilion is yet to be estimated,” said a senior ASI official.

Located about 500 meters away from the Virupaksha temple, the pavilion was earlier a market for traders who earned income due to the regular visits of the devotees. Historians also said that sometimes devotees visiting the temple also used to camp under the pavilion.

“The restoration work is a gradual process and it consumes a lot of time. We are facing challenges in terms of funding and human resources,” the official added.

“It is unfortunate that Hampi monuments are getting damaged due to natural disasters. We are making all efforts to protect the monuments as per guidelines. As per ASI officials, work has already started on the Virupaksha temple premises. They were planning to begin the restoration of saalu mantapa from next month but unfortunately, this incident happened,” Deputy Commissioner of Vijayanagara M S Divakar said.