The Madurai Bench of the High Court of Madras has demanded that a report be filed before it on the fire accident which took place at the world-renowned Madurai Meetnatchi Amman Temple last week.

The fire, which reportedly spread from a nearby waste-paper mart, worsened and affected a few pillars of the historical 1000-Pillar ‘Vasundaraya’ Mandapam.   More than 50 shops within the vicinity of the Temple were gutted in the fire which raged for a few hours. Abul Kalam Azad, an individual, moved the Madurai Bench of the High Court of Madras about the fire accident.

When his petition came up for hearing today, the Court wondered what safety arrangements have been put in place in temples across the State to ensure recurrence of such incidents. It sought to know whether fire-fighting apparatus and fire extinguishers have been kept ready at major temples and directed the State to file a detailed report in this regard.

Tamil Development Department, Police and Fire Department have been issued notices to file a comprehensive report by the 27th of this month; the next hearing in the case has also been postponed on the same day.