Chennai: They keep the faith alive and throbbing among the devotees through spiritual activities – lighting the lamps, chanting mantras and offering solutions to overcome problems, yet they don’t have house of their own.
The village temple priests who are the hope for the devotees have now turned to the State government expecting it to provide a roof above their heads. The government could atleast consider ensuring a quota for them in the Tamil Nadu government’s solar powered Green House Scheme for the benefit of poor in rural areas. “The government could think of providing three cents land to about 500 temple priests in each district from this current fiscal and thereby make sure the priests have a house of their own,” says P. Vasu, president of Kovil Pusarikal Nala Sangam.
The Temple Priests Welfare Association which has been taking up the cause of the temple priests has also urged the state government to increase the pension to Rs 2,500 from the present sum of Rs 1,000 to the aged priests. Those aged 60 should be considered for pension.
Another demand that is uppermost among the priests is the revision of monthly pay for them. Late Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa, they said, had assured to revise their pay and they hope the ruling AIADMK government would take steps to make her promise turn true.
Further, steps should be taken to provide identity cards through the Priests Welfare Board to the priests employed at all the temples with an annual income of less than '10,000 each and coming under the administrative control of the Hindu religious and charitable endowments department
