Vijayawada: Tense situation prevailed for some time at the Endowments Commissioner’s office as activists of the Nayee Brahmin Association waylaid the car of Endowments Minister Kottu Satyanarayana on Tuesday.
They were seeking implementation of the GO offering ‘minimum time scale’ wages to barbers in the endowments department. They demanded that the order be implemented, fixing a minimum scale to barbers working in temples (for head shave) and refused to accept a fixed pay of `10,000.
Minister Satyanarayana said chief minister Jagan Reddy has promised to resolve the issues raised by Nayee Brahmins. The government cannot consider Nayee Brahmins as employees of the endowments department, he said, and promised to do justice to them.
Satyanarayana held a review meeting with the Endowments Department officials. He said the government was trying to increase the honorarium of temple priests. Every Tuesday, a review meeting will be held to discuss the affairs of the endowments department.
He said the Andhra Pradesh government was committed to protecting the temple lands under the endowments department.
“Many such temple lands were under dispute and litigation. Judgments in the civil courts were being issued in favour of private individuals. We will assign these cases to the assistant commissioner (endowments) and have a standing committee to supervise them. If necessary, we will go to the Supreme Court regarding alienated lands,” the minister said.
Satyanarayana said the Dhoopa Deepa Naivedyam Scheme (DDNS) was applicable to only 1,600 temples before 2019. “After the YSR Congress Party came to power, we planned to extend it to more than 2,000 temples across the state.”
He said that as of now, DDNS has been given to 427 temples and “it is the chief minister’s endeavour to see that the Dhoopa Deepa Naivedya rituals are performed in every temple in the state.”
Steps are being taken to have a dress code for the employees in the Endowments and in its temples. For the upcoming Dasara celebrations, there will be a special programme for the temples. District-level endowment officers will monitor the festivities and ensure that devotees are not inconvenienced, he said.
Satyanarayana also said promotions for endowments employees will be announced soon.
