Senior citizens in Karnataka can soon enter govt-managed temples directly
Senior citizens in the state in Karnataka are set to be granted special rights as in Andhra Pradesh. In state-managed temples, people over 65 will soon not have to wait in lengthy lines to offer prayers.
FollowKarnataka Minister for Transportation and Muzrai Department Ramalinga Reddy has hinted that all temples run by the Muzrai department will permit senior citizens over the age of 65 to enter directly, without having to wait in queue.
Senior citizens in the state would be granted special rights, the same as in Andhra Pradesh. In state temples, people over 65 are no longer required to wait in regular long and lengthy lines.Â
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Senior citizens will soon have direct admission inside temples. Minister Ramalinga Reddy of the endowment Department has said that a special queue will be set up for elderly people and arrangements have been made.
The Union of Priests of All Karnataka Hindu Temples requested direct darshan for elderly persons in the temples on behalf of the state's senior residents. In this context, the union of priests sent a letter to the Muzrai department.Â
The Union of Priests addressed a letter to Muzrai Department Minister Ramalinga Reddy and made a direct appeal to him. As a result, older persons are permitted to have direct darshan without having to wait in the state's A and B-category institutions. Having said that, this privilege is not applicable to Trust or Private-administered temples.Â
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Direct darshan for senior persons will henceforth be confined to temples under the state's Muzrai department. However, there has been no resolution to enable older citizens direct darshan in temples run by private boards, religious-charitable committees, or trusts.
Consequently, there has been no clear sequence regulating direct darshan in different temples, including Dharmasthala and Udupi Ashta Mutt (8 mutts of Udupi). There is no word on whether the government will likewise provide directives to the rest of the temples.
The decision by the department, however, contributes to the smooth management of the daily darshans of senior pilgrims and avoids unnecessary tensions and arguments with the temple authorities.
Long pilgrimages to temples or experiencing long duration waits for a glimpse of their chosen divine may be a difficult undertaking for devotees across India. Especially for senior citizens, who visit various temples in large numbers. There have been various incidents in the past reported in many temples across Karnataka regarding queue management and other issues. Many governments have taken several initiatives to reduce long queues and manage devotees.
Recently, the Uttarakhand Tourism development council announced issuing of tokens to pilgrims which would be valid for several hours, lowering the long waits that pilgrims had to face in the past. Earlier, privileges like these were given only to pregnant women and children in Karnataka's temples.
