The gold-plated roof of the sanctum sanctorum of Lord Ayyappa Temple has been found leaking, after which the temple authorities decided to repair it as soon as possible. The Travancore Devaswom Board, the temple body which manages the shrine, on Tuesday said a portion of the gold-plated roof will be opened on August 3 to inspect the leakage and repair it.

"The leak has been detected on the front left corner of the sanctum sanctorum. The leak is not a major one and we suspect the water is leaking through the gap of a screw used to fix the gold plate. I have given instructions to conduct the repair works immediately. The expense of the repair works will be borne by the TDB and we will accept if some devotees come forward to donate the gold for the repair works," said TDB president K Ananthagopan.

He further stated that the temple authorities can conduct the repair works only when the temple is closed and have decided to finish the works within 45 days. He also said that they have obtained permission from the Tantri to conduct the works.

In the year 1998, Vijay Mallya sponsored the gold plating of the roof of the sanctum sanctorum of Sabarimala. According to the reports, he had donated 31 kg of gold and 1,900 kg of copper for the temple.