After a gap of five years, work on giving a poly-silicon coating to prevent corrosion to the 133-feet tall statue of Tamil poet and saint Thiruvalluvar off this coast began today.
The statue was due for renovation in 2008 itself as it had started corroding at various places, officials said, adding that Rs 87 lakh provided by the Tourism Development Corporation had helped kick start the work.
Officials said preliminary work began today but progress was slow due to high speed winds.
They said the ferry service to the statue would be suspended for four months from today to enable work to be taken up.
A major tourist attraction, the statue was opened to the public on Jan 1, 2000, and is located atop a small island near this town, where the Bay of Bengal, Arabian Sea, and Indian Ocean meet.
