Madurai: Devotees of Goddess Meenakshi who visit the temple can now have free internet access as Wifi services are being provided on the peripheries of the temple. The Ministry of Tourism, Government of India has introduced Wifi facilities to help visitors to learn more about the history of temple, SM Sribalamurugan Tourism officer, Madurai told Deccan Chronicle.
As soon as the visitors reach the shoe stands-cum-cloak rooms at the four towers of the temple, the Qfi Wifi service of BSNL would sense the smartphone and emit an alert.
“The visitors have to immediately enrol the mobile number and email id after the alert. Following this, a one-time verification code will be sent to their numbers, which once fed would connect their phone to the service.” A poster explaining the steps to log on to Qfi Wifi service has been displayed near the towers. “We launched the service on Tuesday. For the first 10 days, tourists can use Wifi service for 15 minutes within 150 metres from the cloak room,” said Sribalamurugan. After ten days, a visitor can have access to the service of upto 120 Mb per day.
Welcoming this initiative, N Natarajan, Joint Commissioner of Meenakshi Amman temple, said that the devotees can now use the Wifi connections to book E-pooja such as Arumigu swami and Meenakshi Amman abhishekam or Ubaya Thirukalyanam or for donations using the E-Hundi. “If the devotees don’t have sufficient time to go around the entire temple, they can use the service to download app (audio guide) launched by us recently to know more about history, shrines and deities, stone inscriptions and festivals associated with the temple,” said Natarajan.
This apart, the visitors can also use the Wifi services to check the status of their travel tickets or book hotel rooms in the city, said Sribalamurugan. The Ministry of Tourism introduced free Wifi service for historical monuments last year. So far the service has been provided at Thanjavur Big Temple, Mahabalipuram and the Ooty Botanical Garden in Tamil Nadu, said a senior government officer adding that they would also extend the service to Kodaikanal soon.
