HH Bharati Tirtha Swami of Sringeri Sharada Peetham may lead a protest against the Endowments Department for allowing Sri Durga Malleswara Swamy Varla Devasthanam to take over the maintenance of Sringeri Peetham’s Vadlamannativari Satram Choultry, sources close to New Indian Express revealed.
Arjun Street in Vijayawada, where the Satram stands, remained tense on Tuesday with members of the Sringeri Peetham agitating over its “annexation”.
Members of Sringeri Peetham flayed the temple officials’ decision and claimed it was taken without consulting them. They said that the temple which was supposed to pay a rent of Rs 12,000 per day for using the satram for Annadanam had in fact decided to take it over when the satram custodian was in Sringeri on November 19.
The temple officials, however, said the Vadlamannativari Satram was being used for commercial purposes which was in conflict with the desire of the donor who handed over the satram to Sringeri Peetham five decades ago. According to Vadlamannativari Satram custodian Nimmagadda Subramanyam, the Devasthanam had requested the members of Sringeri Peetham to allocate the satram for Annadanam six months ago. At that time, it agreed to pay Rs 12,000 per day towards rent to the satram. The devasthanam paid a rent of Rs 21.6 lakh until October 15 and then stopped.
“When we asked for the payment for the unpaid period, the temple officials remained silent and suddenly the endowments department has given Durga Temple permission to take over the satram maintenance,”, Shri Subramanyam said.
Defending the move to lease the satram for commercial purposes like weddings and other functions, the custodian maintained that he had the original documents which mention that the satram should be operated through the amount collected from travellers and weddings.
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Source: The New Indian Express
The address of the Satram: 10-2-70, Arjun Street, Arjun Street, Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh 520001. Phone: 866 242 3396
Source of picture: Sringeri.net
It looks as Endowment Departments in all states function in the same autocratic manner. It is high time the Central Government intervenes and makes things all right. Government petty interference in Hindu religious matters should stop fortwith. New winds are blowing! Hara Hara Shankara, Jaya Jaya Shankara!
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