Rameshwaram fishermen, who were left without income, searched for the offerings made by the devotees in the Agni Theertham.
A large number of devotees take a holy bath every day in the Agni Theertham located inside Ramanathaswamy temple in Rameshwaram. Devotees performing Thithi and other rituals at Ramanathaswamy temple would bathe in Agni Theertham to worship their ancestors. They also offer gold or silver plates, coins, rupee coins, or gold-plated goddess statues in the Theertham. The temple administration makes no attempt to recover any of these offerings in the Agni Theertham.
Meanwhile, the Tamil Nadu government has imposed a 61-day ban on fishing in 13 coastal districts starting April 15 to allow for fish breeding. The state government compensates fishermen for their losses by providing ₹5,000 per fisherman. Fishermen who were unable to support their families with the money given by the government dive into the Agni Theertham in search of the devotees’ offerings which may later be sold for money to meet their everyday needs.
Fishermen said that they would rather engage in the task of looking for the devotees’ offerings to meet the everyday expense than to sit idly at home without work.
(with inputs from Dinamalar)
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