Kancheepuram: This temple town’s sheen overshadowed by rising traffic congestion and civic problems

After a nearly two-hour drive on the Chennai-Bengaluru Highway, a glimpse of the top tiers of Ekambareswarar Temple greets you. By the time you navigate a maze of traffic and enter the core of Kancheepuram, your eyes brush past half a dozen temples. The town displays ancient heritage in all its grandeur, dotted by a multitude of temples and a swarm of textile showrooms exhibiting their silk sarees.

But the shine, sparkle and splendour end there. The temple town, which has been experiencing a swelling population and a surge in tourists, is stretched and struggles to cope with this increasing burden. From increasing traffic congestion, unorganised parking and encroachments to sewage issues, Kanchipuram district, which will soon house the city’s massive second airport, still only bears a semi-urban character. For a town that has a tremendous potential to be so much more if better initiatives to promote tourism were implemented, little has been done in all these years.