Shops in Madurai temple violate Act

Chennai: The renowned Meenakshi temple, Madurai, has raised the crucial issue of temple safety and how every available space within the temple has been commercialised blatantly violating the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Act of 1959.

Also, preliminary enquiry reveals that the Friday night's inferno could have been triggered by camphor that was lit for dhisti (to ward off evil eye) by a shopkeeper.

This pleasant and strong aromatic waxy, flammable, white solid was set on fire in front of a shop inside the temple at about 10 pm after the temple was closed for darshan for the day at 9.45 pm on Friday.

“This flames from the camphor could have spread to the inflammable substance nearby and later could have triggered an electrical fire,” a source in HR & CE said on Monday.

Also, the fire mishap has raised several lapses in administration, it was pointed out. The temple is normally closed for darshan at 9.45 pm and so do the shops thereafter. The night watchman who takes up the charge has to verify whether all the devotees, temple staff and shop keepers have left the temple and record it in a register.

It is not known whether this was done on Friday night when the shopkeeper lighted the camphor at 10 pm and left the premises even before it got extinguished, say sources.

Sadly, when the fire spread in the 'mini' shopping centre inside the 7,000 sq ft Vasantharayar mandapam of the renowned Sri Meenakshi Sundareshwar temple, where nearly 150 shops had almost occupied every available space, it was realised that the fire tender stationed at the temple did not have water in it.

“The temple staff had to run to the temple tank to fetch water and attempted to douse the flames till the fire service personnel filled the tender with water and rushed to put out the raging flames. This could also have been the delay in extinguishing the fire,” a senior official said on condition of anonymity.

About 150 shops inside the mandapam and around it were allowed to operate contravening section 77 which prohibited, except in special cases, transfer of landsappurtenant to or adjoining religious institutions, notwithstanding anything contained in section 34, that no trustee of a religious institution shall lease or mortgage with possession or grant a licence for the occupation of any space within or outside the prakarams, mantapams, courtyards or corridors of the religious institution.  

The temple which levied a monthly rent of Rs 1,000 to Rs 1,500 to each shop in the past had revised the sum to Rs 6,000 to Rs 7,000.