Kerala - Kochi   

Salaries of temple priests to be hiked

KOCHI: The salaries of temple priests will be raised to a scale that befits their stature, Devaswom Minister G. Sudhakaran said here on Sunday.

Speaking after inaugurating a public meeting marking the platinum jubilee celebrations of the Malayala Brahmana Samajam, Mr. Sudhakaran said, “they [priests] are the chief secretaries inside a temple.”

The State government has no opinion on what should happen inside a temple, but it definitely has a say in what is happening outside, he said about the facilities to be provided for devotees thronging various temples.

He said 3.5-crore people converge on the State during the Sabarimala pilgrimage season, and the government would take care of cleanliness of the temple and its surroundings and drinking water and food supply and other facilities for the pilgrims.

C.K. Guptan, President of the Travancore Devaswom Board, inaugurated a Vaidika school and switched on the web page of the Tantrik school of the samajam at Sreekrishnapuram, Aluva.

Mr. Guptan said that if any problems experienced last year at Sabarimala, such as the Aravana shortage, recurred during the pilgrimage season this year, he would resign from the Board.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Cartoon books add to the fun
‘Youth not giving their fair share’
Enrolment ceremony held
Science programme for students
Salaries of temple priests to be hiked
Three held on vehicle-theft charge
Festival concludes
Minister’s pat for Kudumbasree units
Two remanded
Bus stir postponed
Tree protection scheme yet to take off
BSNL union to stage dharna
Kerala delegation visiting West Bengal for rice
Kochi today

Copyright © 2008, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu