The revenue department of the Tamil Nadu government will rebuild the Kaliamman temple near Gemmankuppam village in Vellore district, which caste Hindus razed a few days ago. The temple was raised using earthmovers by caste Hindus on August 6 in a bid to prevent the Dalits in the area from taking part in the temple festival.

KV Kuppam Police had registered a case under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act on a complaint filed by Naveen Kumar, who belongs to the Dalit community. According to the revenue department, the consecration of the idol will now take place on August 22 and the construction work of the temple started on Tuesday, August 19.

The Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowment (HR&CE) department of the Tamil Nadu government will take control of the temple once it is rebuilt.

The revenue department held a meeting of various Hindu groups and Dalit leaders on Monday and a decision was taken to rebuild the demolished temple. After the meeting, it was agreed upon that a committee of seven government officials under the HR&CE would manage the day-to-day affairs of the temple.

As per the agreement, the committee of seven members from the revenue department who will manage the daily affairs of the temple will make recommendations to the District Revenue Officer (DRO) for anything regarding temple ceremonies and customs and will allow Dalits to also participate in the temple functions.