Agitators staging protest on the steps of the Balasubramanya Temple at Vennaimalai in Karur on Wednesday. | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Property owners block the entrance to Balasubramanya temple in Karur

by · The Hindu

The opening of the Balasubramanya Swamy Temple at Vennaimalai near here for performing evening puja and the fifth day of the annual Kanda Shasti festival were affected on Wednesday as a large group of residents around the temple staged a sit-in agitation refusing to allow the priests and the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowment (HR&CE) officials to enter the temple.

The temple, which was closed after the uchikala puja around 1 p.m., was supposed to be opened at 5 p.m. However, the devotees, who were protesting against the move of the HR&CE officials to take possession of the “encroached properties” of the temple, did not allow them to open the door. They claimed to have ownership documents and other records for the 500-odd properties and squatted on the steps of the hillock temple raising slogans against the officials.

The protesters said they had been possession of the properties for several decades and it was unfair to evict them on the grounds of the High Court orders. They said they would not withdraw the agitation until they got a written assurance that their properties would not be sealed.

Explaining the importance of performing regular puja and conducting rituals as part of the Kanda Shasti festival, the temple officials and priests appealed to the agitators to allow them into the temple. The police and the officials held four rounds of negotiation with them. Following this, they protesters allowed four priests to enter the temple around 7.30 p.m. to perform puja. A few scheduled pujas could not be performed because of the issue.

Similarly, the protesters gheraoed Assistant Commissioner of HR&CE M. Ramanikanthan and Executive Officer C. Suguna and a few other officials. As a large number of protesters surrounded them, the temple staff acted swiftly and escorted the officials to the office. The officials could not come out from the office for more than four hours.

An official of the HR&CE told The Hindu that the temple officials were prevented from discharging their duty. However, the priority was to conduct the regular and festival puja, they said.

Published - November 07, 2024 05:35 pm IST