TBM Staff - Mumbai The Tamil Nadu government would create a separate wing to disseminate information on temples, major festivals, pujas and relevant particulars to devotees, flexing the latest technology, Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Minister P K Sekar Babu said.
A separate team comprising content creators, technical staff and experts would be set up to bring out the above information in a “cherishing manner,” he said while winding up the debate on the demand for grants for his department in the Assembly.
“It is indispensable to create a separate wing at the office of the Commissioner, HR & CE, to disseminate the temple information with the relevant images and data, then and there, for the benefit of the devotees and the general public on major festivals, renovation, Kumbhabhishekam, and important special pujas,” the Minister said.
Information on the temple properties, eviction of encroachments, amenities, etc., would be disseminated through the social media platforms such as Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube, he said.
Babu announced an increase in the government’s grant from this year from INR 40, 000 to INR 50,000 for the devotees taking up pilgrimage for the first time to Kailash Mansarovar, and INR 10,000 to INR 20,000 for devotees undertaking pilgrimage for the first time to Muktinath.
A corpus fund will be established to provide financial support every year for the higher studies of 400 children of archakas working in temples under Oru kala pooja (one puja a day) scheme.
Enhancing the monthly pension of INR 3,000 for retired persons under the departmental pension scheme to INR 4,000, monthly family pension of INR 1,500 to INR 2,000, an ex-gratia of INR 1,000 during Pongal festival to retired employees, are among the nearly 249 announcements made by the Minister.
Tourism Minister K Ramachandran announced that guided tours would be organised in major temples of Tamil Nadu in association with the HR & CE department. (Source The Print)
