Temples in Kerala are like orphanages, notes HC

The Kerala high court in a landmark judgment on Tuesday came out heavily against the Travancore Dewasom board and said that the temples in Kerala are like orphanages, and even the day-to-day activities of the temples are not being carried out properly.

The division bench of the high court while admitting a petition filed by the Dewaswom employees confederation against the mass transfer of employees, remarked that the Travancore Dewaswom board has failed in every aspect in running the temples.

The division bench comprising of Justice C S Ramachandran Nair and P S Gopinath said that the temples coming under the administration of Travancore Dewaswom board finds it difficult to even conduct  the routine festivals. The court also observed that the local people have to resorted to court to even conduct  the annual temple festivals, and remarked that this was as indeed owing to the pathetic management of the temple board.

The court also observed that some political nominees in the director board of the Travancore Dewaswom board have not risen to the expectations of the people and called upon the government to try and select honest people to such crucial posts.

The observation of the court was welcomed by the two major Hindu community organisations in the state.

The Nair Service Society Assistant Secretary G Sukumaran Nair said that the NSS welcomed the observation of the court and said that the administration of around 10,200 temples under the Travancore Dewaswom board needs much to be discussed.

General secretary of the Shri Narayana Dharma Paripalana yogam, the voice of the strong Ezhava community of the state, Vellapally Natesan, also welcomed the observation of the court, equating the temples of the state to orphanages.