Yogakshema Sabha president Akeeramon Kalidasa Bhattathirippad has called for making the wage structure of priests at various private temples across the State uniform, ensuring minimum wages to all.
Mr. Bhattathirippad was inaugurating a State-level emergency meeting of the Kerala Private Temple Priests Union at Pandalam on Sunday. According to him, priests should be exempted from the task of counting the money offered by devotees at temples attached to the Travancore Devaswom Board. Forcing priests who start work at 4 a.m. every day to count the money amounted to violation of human rights, he alleged.
Mr. Bhattathirippad said the Education Department should make Sanskrit a compulsory subject in the school curriculum from Class 1. He further said the Yogakshema Sabha should be given due representation in the Forward Communities' Welfare Corporation.
Harikumar Namboodiri, Kerala Private Temple Priests Union president, presided over the function and Subrahmanian Potti, secretary, spoke.