THIRUVANANTHAPURAM : The Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB), which runs 1000-odd temples in south Kerala, has decided to open all shrines under its control from August 17, Malayalam New Year Day, except Sabarimala hill temple.
The TDB feels that if Sabarimala temple is opened there will be a steady stream of devotees from neighbouring states and it will affect the ongoing Covid-19 control measures so it deferred its decision on the hill temple. Earlier it planned ‘darshan’ for devotees who made online booking after furnishing Covid-free certificates, but excess enquiries forced the TDB to defer it for now.
“We are planning to open all temples with ‘Ganapati Homam’ (special offering for Lord Ganapati) on August 17. The special offering will mark the auspicious occasion. There will be a strict tab on devotees and entry will be restricted under Covid protocol,” said TDB president N Vasu, requesting elders and children below 10 years to wait for some more time. He said there is an estimated loss of Rs 400 crore due to closure of temples in the last five months.
Though the Union Government had eased restrictions on religious places in May, many temples, churches and mosques deferred opening in view of big spurt in virus cases in June first week. Some churches and mosques were opened on special occasions but temples remained closed.
After lockdown drained its coffers badly, many temple bodies took the e-route to bolster their financial health but virtual offerings failed to catch up with devotees, statistics show. Revenue of Sabarimala was used to fund smaller temples in south Kerala and for salaries of 3,500-odd employees of the TDB. But after Sabarimala’s closure, many temple employees were forced to suffer salary cuts.
In another major shrine, Sree Krishna temple in Guruvayur, the hundi (donation box) collection every month was anywhere between Rs 4 crore and five crore. Besides currency, it often used to get gold, silver and at times diamond and daily poojas also contributed enough money to coffers. Despite big publicity to online offerings, it failed to attract devotees. “With devotees’ return, we hope our financial position will improve,” said a senior temple official.
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