Amid a recent political row locally over the collection of entry fee by the S. Kannanur Town Panchayat for vehicles entering Samayapuram, a section of activists feel that it is high time the civic body did away with the levy in the interests of devotees visiting the famous Sri Mariamman Temple.
The recent decision of the Tiruchi Corporation not to collect entry fee for outstation vehicles entering Srirangam and court judgements against such collection of fee in various other places are being cited by activists and devotees who plead for calling a halt to the collection of the levy.
The S.Kannanur Town Panchayat, under whose limits the temple is located, collects an entry fee of Rs.50 for cars of visitors to the temple, right at the approach road leading to the temple. The fee goes up for bigger passenger vehicles with the maximum of ₹150 being collected for buses.
With the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department, which manages the temple, providing various basic amenities such as vehicle parking, a section of activists contend that the Town Panchayat has no right to collect an entry fee from visitors.
“The Samayapuram Temple is one of the major revenue earning temples in the State, attracting a large number of devotees right through the year. There is no justification for the collection of entry fee by the town panchayat which does not provide any amenity to the visiting devotees. The temple administration provides parking and other facilities for devotees,” contends N.Saravanan, a regular visitor to the temple. Even if the civic body were to collect an entry fee, it should be nominal, he added.
He also alleges that the persons manning the collection check post, insist on payment of the fee for even vehicles of small towns around Tiruchi and those going to villages beyond Samayapuram to such as Maruthur and Mahalikudi. This is totally unacceptable, he maintains.
“There are court judgements against the collection of such entry fee at various places. In Samayapuram the practice continues and visitors are forced to cough up the fee. Instances of altercations between the people manning the post and visitors are frequent. The authorities should ensure that devotees visiting the temple do not have to undergo such hassles,” said S.N. Mohan Ram, president, Tiruchi District Makkal Nala Sangam.
However, the Town Panchayat officials contend that the entry fee is the only major revenue source for the civic body. The Town Panchayat does provide various basic amenities for the floating population of 7,000 to 8,000 a day on an average, they contend.
“The entry fee is being collected since 1984 and is being done after proper approval from the elected council and gazette notification. We provide round-the-clock drinking water supply around the temple through over 70 plastic tanks and have to pay charges to the TWAD Board. We provide parking space at the weekly shandy ground (besides the parking area provided by the temple administration) and many vehicles are being parked there. We pay over ₹5 lakh as electricity charges for street lighting. We also take care of sanitation around the temple and have to pay salaries to sanitary workers. Imagine what would happen if we don’t clear the garbage around the temple, even for a day or two?” wonders an official of the town panchayat.
The official maintained that the fee was not being levied on vehicles of local residents and those headed to villages such as Marudhur. “We haven’t got any major complaint from the public so far,” he claimed.
--
