In an overnight operation on July 18/19, with heavy police deployment, authorities in Madurai demolished the EV Ramaswamy Naicker (popularly known as Periyar among Dravidianists) arch as per court orders to ensure smooth traffic movement.
https://x.com/UpdatesChennai/status/2078853764640096373?s=20
In April 2026, the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court directed the Madurai district authorities to remove all arches situated on public roads that affected the free flow of traffic in the district within three months.
A Bench of Justices N. Sathish Kumar and M. Jothiraman issued the direction while disposing of a PIL filed by M. Saravanan of Madurai in 2019, seeking directions to remove three arches—in Melur Road near the MGR Bus Stand, in Therkuvasal to Madurai Airport Road near Villapuram, and in Madurai to Theni Road near Virattipathu—in Madurai.
Counsel for the government informed the court that the arch opposite the MGR Bus Stand had already been removed, and a tender had been floated for the removal of the arch in KK Nagar after the Assembly election. It has now been pulled down, while the arch opposite the MGR Bus Stand had already been removed in February 2026.
TN:
Periyar ceremonial entrance arch in Madurai, built in 1981 for Fifth World Tamil Conference, demolished overnight under heavy police security following Madras HC's order for better traffic management in the city. pic.twitter.com/H2qWytQi0z
— News Arena India (@NewsArenaIndia) July 19, 2026
The case in detail:
One S. Jainab Beevi moved the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court with a PIL seeking the issuance of a writ of Mandamus directing the respondents to remove the entrance arch, namely Nakeerar Thorana Vayil, near Dr. MGR Bus Stand, Madurai, and extend the entrance wall without hindrance to the public by considering the representations dated July 22, 2024. The matter was heard by a Division Bench comprising Justices R. Subramanian and Sunder Mohan.
Justice R. Subramanian, who authored the order, said: “We had, by our order dated 19.09.2024, included Thanthai Periyar Thorana Vayil since the said arch is also proving to be a hindrance to the free flow of traffic on a busy road in the city. Nakeerar and Periyar arches were built in 1981 during the World Tamil Conference, which are a hindrance to the free flow of traffic on the Madurai-Melur Road and the road leading to KK Nagar. These two arches were constructed at least 43 years ago, and the city had not grown to its present magnitude.”
ஶ்ரீ ரெங்கம் கோயிலுக்கு முன்புறம் உள்ள கருப்பு சிமெண்ட் கலவயை
தேவை இல்லாத குப்பை அப்புறப்படுத்துவார்களா pic.twitter.com/haRjQu4iA7— K.Ashok adv (@ashok777_kalam) July 19, 2026
The court said: “Mattuthavani, Ulaganeri, Narasingam and Othakkadai have developed following the shifting of the Central Bus Stand to the Mattuthavani area and after the commencement of the High Court Bench here in 2004. Before that, traffic on these roads was very negligible. Today, the two pillars of the Nakeerar Thorana Vayil are almost in the middle of the two carriageways of the Madurai-Melur Road, which has a median in between. Even with regard to the Periyar Thorana Vayil, it is visible to the naked eye that one of the pillars of the arch is bang in the middle of the road. It does not require any expertise to conclude that these two arches pose a total hindrance to the free flow of traffic. The Periyar arch is situated at the entrance to Kalaignar Karunanidhi Nagar, which is an important residential locality in Madurai, and the main road in KK Nagar is occupied mostly by commercial establishments. The traffic there is also very heavy.”
The court directed the removal of both arches within a period of six months from the date of the order. It also observed: “It is open to the government to construct bigger arches covering the entire stretch of the road, if it deems fit.” The order was pronounced on September 23, 2024.
