Reconsider move to take over temples, say seers

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A delegation of Sanyasins met Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan on Friday and expressed their concern over the move of the government and the Malabar Devaswom Board to take over temples and madhoms.

The delegation comprising Swami Gangesananda Theerthapadar (Panmana Ashram), Swami Vimalananda (Varkala), Swami Vidyananda Giri (Nettayam), Brahmachari Bhargavaram (Chenkottukonam Asharam) and Viswa Hindu Parishad leader Kummanam Rajasekharan met Mr. Achuthanandan and demanded that the order to take over the Thrikaikottu Madhom in Tanur and 120 temples be repealed. The delegation said Revenue and police officials were trying to take over temples like the Ganapathy temple at Bathery and the Anjaneya temple at Palakkad, which were being systematically managed by the devotees.

The takeover had been initiated on the premise of administrative lapses, they said. But the accounts of the madhoms had been audited and they were well-administered too. The Thrikaikottu Madhom was set up by Thodaka Acharya, a disciple of Sankaracharya. The madhom could be managed only in line with the tradition of Sankaracharya and the existing system could not be altered, they said.