HR&CE Minister PK Sekar Babu inaugurated a free COVID-19 testing camp for priests and other temple staff on June 26.
Temples in Tamil Nadu are set to open on June 28, Monday. On June 25, the state government had announced that the COVID-19 lockdown will be extended till 6 am on June 5, with certain relaxation, including reopening all places of worship in the state.
In view of this, temples in districts such Chennai, Chengalpattu, Thiruvallur and Kancheepuram began cleaning and sanitising the temples, along with setting up barricades to avoid large gatherings of devotees inside the premises.
Speaking to IANS, a senior officer with the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) said, “The protocols will be as what we followed during the first wave of the COVID. People will not be allowed to prostrate or sit down inside the temple ‘prakarams’ or touch idols on the walls or ring bells.”
He said that those above 60 years with comorbidities, children below ten years of age, and pregnant women will not be allowed entry to the temples. Meanwhile, HR&CE Minister PK Sekar Babu inaugurated a free COVID-19 testing camp for priests and other temple staff on June 26.
Further, officials said that people from districts like Chennai, Chengalpattu, Thiruvallur and Kancheepuram have been flooding the HR&CE department’s helpline number enquiring about the reopening of the temples. The senior official said that the HR&CE helpline 044-28339999 can be used by the devotees between 10 am to 6 pm to log in complaints related to temple lands, repair and restoration works related to the temples, or even complaints regarding the running of the temple under the HR&CE in the local area.
Meanwhile, the state government, following the intervention of the Madras High Court, is in the process of reclaiming temple lands across Tamil Nadu. Records point out that there is a difference of 40,000 acres of temple land from the survey conducted in 1984-85 and 2020-21. The government had already reclaimed some land from certain trusts and societies that were running schools and other educational institutions on temple land.
Source: The News Minute