Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Oct 17: A portion of the historic Ranbireshwar Temple here collapsed due to the lightning strike amid heavy rainfall today morning.
In a statement, J&K Dharmarth Trust, which manages the historic temple, said the lightning bolt struck the temple’s front outer veranda, leaving a significant impact on the temple premises.
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Fortunately, the Trust said, the inner sanctum of the temple remained unscathed due to Lord Shiva and Nandi Ji’s divine protection.
“No casualty or injuries were reported to any devotee or the temple employee, as heavy rains and thunderstorm had kept the devotees away,” said Brig (Retired) RS Langeh, President of J&K Dharmarth Trust.
The swift response from the J&K State Disaster Relief Force, J&K Police, Fire Services, and Civil Defence ensured immediate assistance post damage to the temple premises.
Local authorities, led by the Mayor of Jammu, Rajinder Sharma, and other Government officials, also promptly visited the site, with Jammu Mayor offering to plan a dimension stability audit of all the religious places in Jammu.
“There is always an issue of stability of dimensions of the buildings. We will conduct a dimension stability audit of all the religious places in the city,” Rajinder Sharma, the Jammu Mayor, said.
Trustees of J&K Dharmarth Trust, led by Chairman Trustee, Dr Karan Singh, expressed their deep concern over the veranda’s partial collapse and vowed to expedite the restoration process. They assured to reopen the temple for Darshan and Pooja of Lord Shiva as early as possible.
Trustees Ajatshatru Singh and Ranvijay Singh, personally inspected the damage, and assured the public of a comprehensive audit of all the temples under the trust’s purview, and offered their respects to the deities inside the temple.
The Dharmarth Trust President, Brig (Retired) RS Langeh reassured the public that all the temples under their purview are regularly monitored and maintained, with periodic repairs as needed.
“This unfortunate incident is attributed to a natural calamity, and the temple will reopen following a comprehensive structural survey of the entire temple complex,” he said.
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