Devaswom Minister Kadannappally Ramachandran said here on Thursday that he would hold talks with all parties concerned on the constitution of the Malabar Devaswom Board.
Participating in a Meet-the-Press programme here on Thursday, Mr. Ramachandran said so far he had not received any complaint regarding the formation of the Board or related matters. However, he would hold talks with all concerned, including the President of the Board.
On the issue of constituting new Travancore and Cochin Devaswom Boards, the Minister said a consensus should be evolved after talks with all the parties concerned. Matters of law and religious rites were involved in the issue. Several decisions, including inducting more members to the Board as was done recently, could be taken only through consensus arrived at after detailed talks. “There was no relevance for decisions taken unilaterally by the Minister,” he said.
A civic reception was accorded to the Minister here.
Mr. Ramachandran said more facilities would be provided at the Sabarimala temple where pilgrims were expected in large numbers during this season. Last year, nearly three crore pilgrims had visited the temple. He said there should be coordinated efforts of all the government departments concerned for the proper conduct of the pilgrim season.
The Minister said he was in touch with Ministers and officials concerned of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh on the Sabarimala pilgrim season. Talks would be held with the Ministers and officials concerned. Issues such as curtailing the use of plastic materials by pilgrims from other southern States would figure in these talks.
The Minister also visited Sreekanteswaram Temple where a major theft took place in the early hours of Tuesday. He said necessary steps would be taken to prevent thefts at temples. He said he would hold talks with Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan in this regard.
