President Ram Nath Kovind visited the idol of Athi Varadar at the Sri Devarajaswamy temple in Kancheepuram on Friday.
He arrived in the city on a special flight from Delhi around 2.30 p.m and headed to Kancheepuram in a helicopter. Security was beefed up at the temple and darshan was stopped for devotees. Mr. Kovind was accompanied by Governor Banwarilal Purohit and Minister R.B. Udhayakumar. After the visit, the President returned to Chennai.
‘Arrangements lacking’
In the second week of the 40-day festival, many devotees have begun complaining about the lack of facilities at the temple. From crowd management to drinking water and providing fans, amenities were not up to the mark, said a section of devotees. S. Krishnaswamy, 65, a resident of Kancheepuram, said the devotees were made to stand in queue for 5-6 hours because of poor crowd management.
“For devotees who park their cars, there are mini-buses to take them to the temple entrance. But there are not enough of them and many resort to taking autos and the auto drivers fleece devotees, charging them ₹100-300 for short distances,” one of the locals said.
R. Narayanswamy, another local, said the authorities should provide drinking water every few metres inside the temple. Raghu Raman, who travelled from the city, said that the devotees have to leave their footwear at one gate and exit through another. “No one has the strength to double back to pick up footwear. As a result, we see discarded footwear everywhere.”
