As part of streamlining darshan at the Arunachaleswarar temple in Tiruvannamalai town, a small separate arena with shamiyana will be set up, especially during weekends and pournami days, where families with children below age of six, pregnant women, differently abled and senior citizens can wait before temple authorities take them for free darshan bypassing the common queue from this week.
The initiative comes after Collector D. Bhaskara Pandian and officials of HR&CE led by S. Jothi, joint commissioner (HR&CE), inspected the temple onthe availability of civic amenities for visitors when a few devotees posted a video on social media platforms complaining lack of basic facilities including drinking water for people waiting in the common queue during pournami days.
“The new arrangement is to ensure easy and safe darshan at the temple, especially during rush days. A system will be in place to ensure the initiative is strictly followed,” Mr. Pandian told The Hindu.
As per plan, a small group of police personnel from the district police will be deployed inside the temple. The team will direct targeted visitors to wait under the shamiyana where seating arrangements and water facilities will be made.
When the total number of devotees turns into a small crowd of 30 - 40 persons, they will be escorted by temple officials for free darshan. They will be allowed to worship for a few minutes. Other devotees will be allowed to go in the common queue. “The new arrangement for women and senior citizens should be followed without any bias. Temple authorities should not drop the initiative after doing it for some time,” said K. Vasantha, a devotee.
Apart from constables, sign boards will also be kept inside the temple for easy identification of special arena. HR&CE officials said that such an effort would ensure women children and senior citizens get an opportunity for safe darshan during auspicious days.
At present, Tiruvannamalai gets on an average 3 lakh visitors during Pournami days whereas during weekends the town gets more than one lakh visitors mainly from Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. More than 40 lakh devotees visited the town on Maha Deepam day in 2023.
The district administration has created amenities, including installation of drinking water taps, at 50 spots in the temple’s vicinity including the 14-km-long girivalam path. A mobile medical team and an ambulance have been deployed.
