Endowments minister C Ramachandraiah has said that Shivaji Gopuram at Srisailam collapsed since it reached to deterioration stage. He has said that there were 48 temples in the state, which reached to this level. He has even said that the government would be constructing the collapsed gopuram of Srikalahasthi by 2014 while there was no information as to when Srisailam Gopuram would be constructed. Further, he mentioned that the government was unable to renovate temple due to insufficient funds.

It may be recalled that famous Srisailam Gopuram came down two days ago, which was constructed by the legendary emperor Chatrapathi Shivaji, who's also referred to as Shivaji Maharaj by many Maharashtrians. It may be noted that the expert committee in 2010 itself told the endowments department that Shivaji Gopuram came to deterioration stage.

(AW Phani)