Travancore Devaswom Board president M.P. Govindan Nair and board member Subhash Vasu have called upon the State government to declare Makaravilakku a public holiday from this year onwards.
Talking to The Hindu , they said the board would submit a memorandum to the Chief Minister, Oommen Chandy, in this regard soon.
Makarasankranti or Makaravilakku day is an auspicious day for the Hindus, besides it being the culmination of south India’s largest annual pilgrimage to Sabarimala. The State government should declare the Makaravilakku day on January 14 a public holiday, respecting the religious sentiments of the majority Hindu community, said Mr. Vasu.
Mr. Vasu said the TDB was planning to open career guidance-cum-counselling centres for youth at various major temples. He said the proposed centres would have state-of-the-art facilities to help in the overall development of the youth.
He said the board would organise weekly lectures and classes by experts in various disciplines with a view to instilling moral and ethical values rooted in Indian tradition in the younger generation. A library would be set up at these centres, he said.
Mr. Vasu said the idea was to make Hindu temples centres of learning too. Classes in Yoga, personality development, and career opportunities would be held at these centres. The first centre would be set up at the Chettikulangara Devi temple soon, he said.
Aravana buffer stock
Mr. Vasu said the buffer stock of Aravana at the Devaswom godown crossed seven-lakh containers of 250 ml each as on Tuesday. The daily Aravana production had gone up to 2.10-lakh containers, and the High Power Committee (HPC) had decided to upgrade the existing facility at the Sannidhanam Aravana plant immediately after the culmination of the Makaravilakku festival, he said.
