Devotees going for a holy bath at the Rameshwaram temple suffer from a lack of space to walk through the shops that occupy the sidewalk. The main purpose of visiting the Rameswaram Shrine is to bathe in the 23 holy theerthams there. Thanks to the encroachment, devotees find it difficult to wade through and take a dip in the holy wells.
There has been strong opposition in the past when the Tamil Nadu Hindu Religious & Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Department tried to relocate the theerthams in the Rameswaram temple, which is under their control, citing ‘maintenance issues’.
The latest controversy that has arisen there is that it is currently inconvenient for the devotees as shops have been set up occupying the way for the devotees to bathe. The temple administration removed the shops on the east and south rath streets of the temple a few years ago as devotees had to wait in long queues to bathe in the 22 theerthams in the temple after bathing in the Agni Tirtham, which is in the sea.
A roof was later erected to accommodate the devotees waiting in line on these streets. Then, in 2019, devotees were allowed to bathe by entering through the North Rath Street’s entrance of the temple. People are now accusing the shopkeepers of setting up a tent and occupying the sidewalk on the North Rath Street’s sidewalk as it was easier for the devotees to enter this way.
This has made it difficult for devotees to stand in long queues as the way to theerthams is blocked. Devotees have demanded that the shops be moved to avoid congestion due to overcrowding on important festival days like the Amavasai. It is noteworthy that the Highways Department had laid tiles on this path for the convenience of the devotees.
The temple staff is said to have asked the Highways department to take action to remove the shops. Social activists have demanded that the HR&CE Department and the Highways Department should take action to alleviate the inconvenience to the devotees by removing the occupation responsibly without pointing fingers at each other.
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