The new flooring is slippery and emanates heat
In spite of protests by a huge number of residents, the coarse stone flooring in the prakaram and pradakshina course at Sri Parthasarathy Temple were re-laid with new granite stones a few months ago by the HR & CE.
They have also covered the same areas with a permanent shelter, obstructing the darshan of the Anandha Vimanam, Vedavalli Thayar Vimanam and the Varadhar Sannidhi Vimanam. The covering has also stopped the movement of free air in the area.
The new polished stones generate a lot of heat, unlike the coarse stone flooring which is considered to be a natural absorber of heat and water and also provides acupressure effect. Devotees are anguished and pained by these recent developments.
Originally written for The Hindu, read more at https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/devotees-strive-to-restore-tradition/article3820525.ece