Kollam: Debaprasad Sahoo, the Project Director of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), visited the Thrikkadavoor Mahadevar Temple site on Sunday. The visit was in the wake of escalating complaints that the ongoing national highway construction was threatening to obstruct the temple's Nedumkuthira Eduppu ritual.

To underscore the crucial height requirement for the ritual, the Temple Advisory Committee, alongside representatives from the eight local 'karas' (divisions), has constructed a 'protest horse'. This replica of the ceremonial horse effigy, standing at 17.5 metres tall, has been erected adjacent to the proposed highway alignment. Temple authorities have declared their intention to initiate legal proceedings, including charges of contempt of court, should NHAI fail to take constructive action.

The Temple Advisory Committee and the Thrikkadavoorappan Seva Sangham had previously petitioned the High Court. They allege that a court directive issued in June, which called for a meeting of concerned parties to resolve the issue, was not complied with. Subsequently, last week, devotees staged a protest by blocking the national highway construction. While authorities arrived and offered assurances, no concrete steps were taken.

Following this, the other day, a delegation of office-bearers from the Temple Advisory Committee and members of the Thrikkadavoorappan Seva Sangham, led by President R. Ramachandran Pillai, traveled to Thiruvananthapuram. Acting on instructions from P.K. Krishnadas, the central government's representative for national highways in Kerala, they met Debaprasad Sahoo and apprised him of the situation. It is this meeting that prompted the Director's site visit on Sunday.