Century-old ‘carriage-cum-lift’ upgraded at Chamundeshwari temple

The century-old ‘Carriage-cum-lift’ of Chamundeshwari temple has been repaired and is ready to be used. The Central Workshop of South Western Railways (SWR), Mysuru Division, renovated the unit and handed it over to the temple authorities, on Monday.

The lift was used to place the idol to the elevated seat on temple chariot. The unit was in a dilapidated condition and the repair works could not be taken up as the original drawings of the lift were not available.

The temple administration, led by chief priest N Shashishekara Dixit and MP Pratap Simha had approached General Manager, SWR in October and requested to renovate the lift. As per the instructions from the head quarters, the Central workshop, Mysuru, took up the task as a challenge and renovated it.

Cradle lifting mechanism is provided with locking and anti-fall arrangement and a new ladder provided with anti-skid plates and hand rail. Rigidity of the structure is made thorough with additional propping arrangement and the whole unit is beautifully painted without losing its antique look. The whole work to this heritage structure was completed in 45 days time.

The manually-operated crane weighs anywhere between five to six tonnes and is 5.5-metre tall. It has a capacity to lift 300 kg.

MP Pratap Simha said that the unit was in a dilapidated state since many years and the chief priest had requested to make arrangements for the lift. The unit required Rs 5.5 lakh for repair and the District In-charge Minister S T Somashekar managed to get the funds from the state government, he said. Now, the lift is ready for operation, he said.

Minister Somashekar and the authorities of SWR were present on the occasion.