For the residents of Sholinghur Assembly constituency in Ranipet district, life always revolves around the Sri Lakshminarasimhar Temple, a pilgrimage center for Vaishnavites located atop a hill on the outskirts of the city.
Young and old devotees who brave the hot weather come from distant places to worship the temple throughout the day. They had to climb 1,305 steps to reach the sannidhi of Lord Narasimhar and Amruth Valli Thayar until 2024, when Chief Minister MK Stalin inaugurated the cable car in March that year.
The ₹8.26 crore facility provides easy access to the hill temple, especially for women and senior citizens. Devotees can also use the stairs to reach the temple. “Waiting to board the cable car at the foot of the temple is time-consuming as devotees, including old people, have to stay for long hours in the waiting room. It is an ordeal for devotees who come from far-off places,” said K. Arunachalam, treasurer of the Sholinghur All Traders Association.
Local residents and devotees outside the city have been stressing the need to improve the civic amenities and infrastructure of the ancient temple. Built by Parankucha Chola in the 3rd century AD, the Yoga Narasimha temple deity is seated in a yoga (meditation) posture.
Each day, an average of over 1,000 visitors are allowed to use the facility between 8:30 am and 5:00 pm, while other devotees climb to enter the temple. “Affordable government accommodation for devotees in Sholinghur remains a key requirement as increasing the flow of visitors will also help boost the local economy. At present, devotees have to depend on private lodges which are poorly maintained,” said S. Anbarasu, Councilor 17th Ward, Sholinghur Municipality.
Away from the city and its temple, the constituency also includes at least 60 agricultural villages where sugarcane is the main crop. Other crops such as paddy and groundnut are equally grown in the dry region.
Farmers said the state government should build a joint government facility to store the quantity of sugarcane before it is transported to nearby districts and states like Karnataka, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh. Currently, such large godowns are available in Vellore and Tiruvannamalai. “More paddy procurement centers should be set up in the constituency as many farmers have to go to the neighboring town of Nemili to deposit paddy in government centres. It increases the overall transport cost for farmers,” said farmer K. Sukumar.
The entry of trucks and lorries loaded with sugarcane remains a perennial irritant in Sholinghur and nearby villages as it results in regular accidents. Sholinghur town is a key route for these vehicles to transport loads of raw sugarcane from villages to crushing units at Vellore, Tiruttani, Arani, Vandavasi and Cheyyar.
As a result, traffic is affected for several hours as trucks and lorries get stuck on the narrow roads, affecting vehicular movement. The local traffic police had introduced a one-way traffic system for trucks and lorries three years ago, but the initiative had little impact on easing traffic in the temple town.
Residents said work on the proposed ₹50 crore bypass to connect Putheri and Kalpattu villages on the outskirts of Sholinghur town should begin without further delay. The new section will prevent trucks from entering the city.
The political landscape of Sholinghur has largely favored the Indian National Congress (INC) since independence. The National Party has won the constituency six times since the first poll held in 1952. Incumbent AM Munirathinam of the Congress has won four times in the assembly seat. He won three consecutive terms in 1989, 1991 and 1996. Apart from 1996 when he won as a Tamil Maanila Congress (TMC) candidate, he ran as a Congress candidate in three other polls.
While the AIADMK-led NDA alliance has fielded advocate K. Saravanan of the PMK, an alliance partner, the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) has nominated G. Kapil as its candidate for the constituency. The Congress, which is part of the DMK alliance, is yet to define its candidate. Residents hope that the winning candidate will fulfill their constituency aspirations.
Published – 03 Apr 2026 0:47 IST
