Daijiworld Media Network - Sullia (SP)

Sullia, Aug 3: Lord Subrahmanya temple at Kukke in the taluk happens to be the temple with the highest income in the state. Its income stood at Rs 98.92 crore last year. Surprisingly, the priests there draw a basic pay of only Rs 96 per month.

The temple has 15 staff including four priests, an assistant priest, Purohits and assistants. These employees get service allowance on the basis of services offered to the Lord by devotees in the respective months. They have been paid service allowance till March 17 on the basis of puja charges collected by the temple. As lockdown was applied on account of coronavirus, services have been suspended in the temple from March 20 onward.

As only routine puja and other festivities are performed by the priests now, they get only Rs 96 by way of monthly basic pay. The priests are facing hardships as a result. They have pointed out that in some temples, service allowance and Dakshina payment are being made on the basis of the figures pertaining to April and May last year and have requested the government to extend similar facilities to them.

On the basis of their representation, the temple executive officer has sent a proposal on May 22 to the commissioner of Hindu Endowments and Charitable Institutions, seeking permission to disburse Rs 4.21 lac for April 2020 and Rs 5.19 lac for May 2020. However, the temple is yet to be informed of any decision even a month after the proposal was sent.

Roopa, the additional deputy commissioner of the district, who also happens to be the administrative officer of the temple, said that the proposal of the priests was sent to the endowments commissioner and that directions received from there would be complied with. Muzrai minister Kota Srinivas Poojary said that financial assistance at the rate of Rs 5,000 was disbursed on a temporary basis to priests who were performing Sarpa Samskara rituals in the past. He said he is not aware of the request made by the priests of the temple as above.