MADURAI
The Meenakshi Sundareswarar temple implemented the mobile phone ban on its premises here on Saturday.
Devotees who carried their phones were asked to place their devices in vaults at the North and the West towers.
“Devotees will have to pass through a mandatory security check, following which we will stamp a ‘checked’ sticker on the phone. Only phones with this sticker can be stored at the vaults,” said an official. There are 1,000 slots at the vaults, he added.
The move was made after a temple fire burnt down much of Veera Vasantha Rayar mandapam on February 2. Though no one was injured, the temple administration decided to beef up its security measures post the fire. The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court directed the temple administration to ban the use of mobile phones inside the premises following the wreckage. On February 27, the temple administration issued a circular stating that tourists and devotees would be disallowed from carrying their mobile devices from March 3.
The vault system has two people to issue receipts to the tourists and providing tokens. The receipt carries details regarding the name of the customer, their address, the number, the cellphone brand and the signature of the party. The phone will be returned after acknowledgement from the said customer.
A source from the temple administration said that the first day of the vault system was not difficult to manage. “Only Sunday will answer our doubts as crowds would throng the temple. It is an auspicious day,” he said.
