The Madan Mohan Temple in Cooch Behar. Picture by Himangshu Ranjan Deb

Cooch Behar, Oct. 21 Renovation work on Madan Mohan Temple ? a heritage site ? will be completed before Rashmela, which begins on November 15.

This was announced here today by district magistrate Ravi Inder Singh, who is also the president of Cooch Behar Debottar Trust Board, which looks after the temple.

Since the time of the Maharajas, the mela has been held on the occasion of Madan Mohan Puja during rashjatra .

Singh said two other temples under the trust, the Kali temple in Varanasi and Krishna temple in Vrindaban, would also be renovated. A team of officials, headed by subdivisional officer Shankar Halder, who is also an ex-officio member of the board, has already left for Varanasi and Vrindaban to assess the present status of the two temples.

According to a senior employee of the trust, Srikanta De, the renovation of Madan Mohan?s temple ? built in 1889 ? began three months ago.

?Minor repair work had been done several times in the past. This is the first time we have taken up a major renovation work of the temple,? De said, adding that cracks had appeared at the pinnacle and the plaster had begun to peel at many places.

The public works department (PWD) has been entrusted with the renovation work. PWD executive engineer Ashok Kumar Sarkar said the Kathamia temple, which shares the same campus with the Madan Mohan temple, was also being repaired.