Gold-plated roof of Kerala's Sabarimala temple found leaking

The gold-plated roof of the famed Lord Ayyappa temple in Sabarimala, thronged by lakhs of pilgrims during its annual pilgrimage season, has been found leaking, following which the shrine authorities decided to repair it at the earliest.

The Travancore Devaswom Board, the apex temple body which manages the shrine, on Tuesday said a portion of the gold-plated roof would be opened on August 3 to take stock of the leak.

However, a TDB official said the leak, found on the front left corner of the sanctum sanctorum, was not a major one.

Water was found dripping on the statues of the dwarapalakas (door guard) recently, he said adding that the temple tantri (head priest) Kandararu Rajeevaru has been informed about the leak following which he gave permission for the repair.

"It has been decided to open a portion of the gold plated roof and examine it on August 3. Then only we can understand the extent of the leak," the official told PTI.

He also said the entire expense of the repair work would be borne by the TDB itself.