RESTORED SHRI SAPTKOTESHWAR TEMPLE TO BE INAUGURATED ON FEB 11

Panaji: February 9, 2023

The project of Restoration of Shri Saptakoteshwar Temple at Narve, Bicholim and its precinct is completed and will be inaugurated February 11, 2023 at 4.00 p.m. at the hands of Chief Minister, Dr. Pramod Sawant and MLA, Satara, Shrimant Chhatrapati Shivendra Raje Bhosale in the presence of Minister of State for Tourism, Ports, Shipping and waterways (Government of India), Shri. Shripad Naik: Minister for PWD, Shri. Nilesh Cabral; Minister for Archaeology, Shri. Subhash Phal Dessai; MLA’s, Shri. Premendra Shet, Shri. Vijay Sardessai; Secretary, Archaeology, Shri. Menino D’Souza, IAS; Director, Archaeology Department, Dr. Nilesh B. Fal Dessai; Principal Chief Engineer, Public Works Department, Shri. Uttam Parsekar; President of Temple, Shri. Prithviraj (Uday) Sardessai and Devasthan Committee Members. Noted historian, Shri. Pandurang Balkawde will be the keynote speaker.

Shri. Saptakoteshwar temple is a protected site of the Department of Archaeology. This Temple is a landmark heritage conservation project by the Department of Archaeology. This temple is an important historical landmark which was undertaken for restoration in the year 2019 and marks the completion of 350 years of the Temple Jeernodhar by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. The historicity of the temple is not only confined to the singular structure but also lies in the surrounding peripheral remains and antiquities. A row of ruinous Laterite arcades, the Tali on the North-East side, Tulsi Vrundavan and Deepstambh in the front open space of the temple along with many other known-unknown elements are very much part of the intrinsic value of the site as a whole. The restoration works were executed in a systematic way with the implementation of conservation best practices to reinstate the heritage character of the temple.

DI/NB/AXP/SS/UH/2023/175