Coronavirus : Govt orders Hindu temples to deposit Rs 10 crore in the CM Relief Fund
Tamil Nadu government has asked 47 temples to donate total of rupees 10 crores to the CM Relief Fund to fight Chinese coronavirus. But on the hand, the state government has ordered the distribution of 5,450 tonnes of free rice to 2,985 mosques of the state on April 16 in the month of Ramzan, so that those who were keeping Rojas would not suffer. This rice at Rs 21/kg will cost the Tamil Nadu government little over Rs 11 crore.
At a time, when the struggle to free the temple administration from the clutches of the government is intensifying, the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowment department(HR and CE) of the Tamil Nadu government has set aside 47 temples in addition to the amount earmarked for taking care of poor. CM Relief Fund has directed temples to provide an additional 10 crores.
HR and CE secretary K Panindra Reddy directed all the officials working under him in 47 temples including Madurai, Palani, Thiruchendur, Tirutani, Thiruvannamalai, Rameswaram, and Mayilapur to contribute a surplus amount of 35 lakhs to feed the poor due in the lockdown. Other temples have been directed to pay from 15 lakh rupees to 25 lakh rupees. All 47 temples have to pay a surplus fund of 10 crore to CM Coronavirus relief Fund.
It is noteworthy that HR and CE manage 36,612 temples in Tamil Nadu. These temples are renewed/protected and restored by the surplus funds. A lot of priests depend entirely on donations from devotees. They are now stranded and facing starvation due to the coronavirus epidemic and the nationwide shutdown. The state government instead of helping them, has targeted the property of Hindu temples to pursue appeasement politics.
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