The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Plea to make arrangements for poor and aged pilgrims

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Wednesday, Jul 09, 2008
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Plea to make arrangements for poor and aged pilgrims

Special Correspondent

CHENNAI: A senior citizen of Triplicane has moved the Madras High Court to direct official authorities to make arrangements for the pilgrimage of poor and aged Hindu devotees to the Kasi Viswanathar temple and the Rameswaram temple.

In his petition, V.N. Viswanathan submitted that it was the sacred duty of a Hindu to go to the Kasi and Ramanathaswamy temples. Many aged devotees did not have the means to undertake the pilgrimage. Even in many affluent families, there was no one to take care of senior citizens. It was the government’s duty to help the poor and aged persons to perform their lifetime duty.

The HR and CE department, in consultation with Southern Railway (cited as a respondent), should arrange for the pilgrimage of the poor Hindus to the two temples. The petitioner submitted that the Central and State governments were offering assistance to the Muslims for performing Haj pilgrimage. He said he had made representations to the authorities.

When the matter came up before the First Bench of Chief Justice A.K. Ganguly and Justice F.M.Ibrahim Kalifulla, counsel for the HR and CE department said that as far as places of pilgrimage in Tamil Nadu were concerned, the petitioner could make a representation to the department for making arrangements for Hindu devotees.

Disposing of the petition, the Bench said the department’s stand was reasonable. The petitioner could make a fresh representation to the department, along with a copy of the court order, confining his prayer to grant of some privileges to visit Rameswaram and other such important places in Tamil Nadu. If such a representation was made, the department may dispose it of by a speaking order within a period of six weeks.

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