With Kanda Sashti festival starting at November 8, a large number of devotees will start visiting Subramaniaswamy Temple at Tirupparankundram near Madurai. Though this important festival is hardly a few days away, the area around Saravana Poigai, the temple pond used by the devotees, is in an unkept state.
Since the public toilets here remain locked, the devotees have no other option but to defecate in the open. Munusu Senthil, a resident of Tirupparankundram, says Saravana Poigai holds religious importance. “Every Kanda Sashti, women observe fast, take a dip in the pond and complete girivalam around the temple hillock. But the women who take bath here have no dressing room. They also do not have proper toilet facilities,” he says.
“Hundreds of devotees will start arriving from November 7, the day after Deepavali, to tie ‘kaapu’ on November 8. But the public toilets remain locked,” he says.
The pond is rain-fed and is never cleaned, says P. Mahamuni, a member of Communist Party of India (Marxist). Taking bath or swimming among the mosquito larvae and slime will only cause skin infection and disease, he says.
The residents say they petitioned the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR and CE) department officials, but they did not take any action.
Mr. Senthil says the high-mast lights near the pond do not function and the place is unsafe at night. All these problems were discussed at meetings with authorities of different departments. But no worthwhile action was taken, he says.
Collector S. Natarajan visited Saravana Poigai on October 20 and instructed Public Works Department officials and the temple administration to keep the area and water clean. He suggested that the Vaigai river water flowing on Nilayur channel can be diverted to the pond.
Corporation Commissioner S. Aneesh Sekhar said the bathrooms maintained by the civic body were functioning. HR and CE officials in charge of the temple were unavailable for comment.
