THRISSUR: Devotees paying Rs 1,000 for the neivilakku offering at Guruvayur Lord Sree Krishna Temple will be provided a direct channel to the sanctum sanctorum of the temple without waiting in the general queue from today (Saturday). The decision was taken at the recent Guruvayur Devaswam Managing Committee (GDMC) meeting. The devaswom has issued an official release on the matter. The newly appointed GDMC by the LDF government headed by lawyer K B Mohandas took the decision in view of the frequent inquiry from devotees seeking special darshan as in Tirupati and Pazhani, Guruvayur Devaswam (GD) officials told DC.
Earlier, the managing committee headed by N Peethambara Kurup had come up with an option for special darshan that did not involve much waiting for those who offered Neivilakku for '4,500. Then, a total of five persons were allowed by GD officials to the ‘green channel’ entry to offer prayers before the deity. For '1,000, a single devotee would be allowed directly to the sanctum sanctorum. Devotees choosing both the offerings would be given special kits of prasadam, GD officials added. However, the move by the GDMC has not gone down well with the BJP and a devotees’ organization based in Guruvayur called Prathikarana Vedi.
BJP district president A Nagesh said that the GD should roll back the decision to give special entry and darsan for the rich. While Prathikarana Vedi functionary Venugopal Pazhoor said that rather than coming up with such options by collecting more money from devotees, the GD should revamp the portions of the chuttambalam (outer boundary wall) of the temple by correcting the alleged faults in ‘vasthu’. “By dropping the present Vastu consultant, the likes of Vezhaparambil Chitrabanu Namboothirpad, who has made corrections to the Vasthu of several temples in Kerala, need to be roped in to make the changes in the concrete constructions attached to the chuttambalam. By making such changes, there will be more space inside the temple and the rush of devotees can be managed with further ease,” Mr Pazhoor said.
