Should temples be free of govt control?

The controversy pertaining to the adulteration of Tirumala Laddu Mahaprasadam had shaken the entire nation. Deputy Chief Minister and Jana Sena president Pawan Kalyan was the first one to propose the formation of a ‘Sanatana Dharma Rakshana Board’ at the national level following controversy over the adulterated ingredients used in making Tirupati Laddu prasadams.

This has sparked a debate on the issue and several seers, Hindu organisations and heads of Hindu religious organisations had also expressed similar view. They also felt that all major temple boards like Tirumala should have their own Goshalas to prevent adulteration of milk and milk products used in prasadam. Team Hans went round seeking opinion of various sections of people on this issue.

Instead of freeing temples from endowments department, it will be better to abolish trust boards in temples because not only lakhs of temple funds donated by devotees are getting wasted in the name of salaries for trust board members. It is also affecting the sanctity of the temples. I appeal to Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu to bring all Hindu religious institutions under the control of senior IAS officers to check the irregularities in the temple administration. K Ananda Reddy, founder Pranava Yoga and Wellness Society, Nellore city

Temples should not be viewed from a commercial perspective. The income for temples comes solely from devotees. It is inappropriate for governments to spend the donations offered to God by devotees on employee salaries and other expenses. Therefore, temples should be given the autonomy to manage themselves. They should be entrusted to religious organisations and spiritual institutions. All temples, including the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams, must have goshalas. Tadavarti Bharat Kumar Gupta, printer and binder, Rajamahendravaram

Managing temples should not be the government’s responsibility. They are religious institutions and should be managed by spiritual organisations. The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams should have its own goshala to meet all its needs. Similarly, other major temples should also establish goshalas.Gade Ravi Kumar, document writer, Rajanagaram

TTD should set up its own goshala with its own funds to check the adulteration in the laddu and other prasadams. What is the problem for TTD to set up own goshala with the thousands of crores deposits in the banks? In case it is not possible to set up goshala from its funds, they can launch Go Dhana Fund (GDF) like Pranadana Trust, Annadana Trust, etc., with just Rs 10.Nalisetty Rajasekhar, ABVP Vibhag convener, Nellore city

Endowments department should continue to manage the temples. Employees who have a commitment to protect the sanctity of the temples should be continued in the temples. All the major temples should maintain their own goshalas to prepare cow ghee to meet requirements of dhoopa deepa naivedyam and prasadam to check adulteration of cow ghee. Nerella Madhava Rao, Guntur city

Its high time temples are given freedom from endowments department. Employees of various religions working in the endowments departments should be transferred to other departments. All the major temples should have their own goshalas to meet the cow ghee requirements of the temples. TTD and major temples should extend assistance to smaller temples either to set up goshalas or supply milk and ghee. K P Srinivas, S.N Puram,Vijayawada