Hindu outfit seeks action over Meenakshi temple fire

Chennai: A Tamil Nadu based Hindu outfit today demanded action against authorities for “failure” to take preventive measures to avoid the fire mishap at the Madurai Meenakshi temple.

The blaze at the Madurai Meenakshi temple is an example of the “inept” administration by the Hindu Charitable and Endowments Department, founder-organiser of the Hindu Munnani, Rama Gopalan, said.

A major fire broke out inside the premises of the shrine last night in which at least 40 shops were gutted.

Temple authorities said electrical short circuit in one of the shops selling pooja articles caused the fire.

Considering safety parameters, no shop should be allowed to function within the temple precincts, he said in a release here.

That no mechanism was in place to tackle the situation in the event of a fire showed the level of deterioration of administration by the HR and CE, he alleged.

“Tamil Nadu government should take appropriate action against those responsible (temple administrative authorities) for failure to take preventive steps to avoid fire mishap at the Meenakshi temple.” 

Reiterating his outfit’s long time demand, he said the government should give up administering Hindu temples.

He said administration of shrines should be done by an independent body free from state control and wondered why a secular goverment wanted to control temples.