Ramanathaswamy Temple Rameswaram Devotees Fleeced

Till the 1980s, there were no bus services to Rameswaram and the only way to reach this historical temple town was by rail. Devotee crowd was minimal and one was able to have peaceful darshan. Since the launch of the Pamban road bridge in the second half that decade, crowd has increased manifold and even more so at the turn of the century when the devotional wave began to hit TN temples. 

15000 devotees visit the Ramanathaswamy temple on weekdays and this doubles over the weekends. The number shoots up significantly on Amavasai days. There were around 75000 people this Saturday morning on the occasion of the Mahalaya Amavasai in Puratasi. The new EO, Sivaram Kumar, who has taken over charge only a couple of months had a long meeting with the collector in Ramanathapuram earlier this week in preparation for this event on Saturday.

Unfortunately for the devotees, agents in this temple town have been having a field day and the HR & CE has not been able to do much about it for a long time. The fleecing of devotees start right at the main bus stand 2kms west of the temple.  North Indian devotees land up at 4.15 am by bus from the Mandapam station. With the renovation and reconstruction of the Rameswaram station, the trains now stop at Mandapam and one has to take the road to Rameswaram. Keen to have the early morning darshan at the temple, most succumbed and paid the charges demanded to reach the temple. Most were told that there were no local buses to the temple and hence they had to use the private services to reach the temple if they wanted to have morning darshan.

Once they reached the temple, scenes turned even worse. There are no official toilet or bath facilities on offer from the HR & CE and hence these devotees are caught unawares and fall prey to the local agents. Mobile phones are not allowed inside the temple and the devotees have to deposit these with the private shops. A typical mobile deposit costs Rs. 20. Devotees have to shell out Rs. 50 for locker facility to deposit their bag. Also, the devotees are fleeced for the bath and toilet facilities which once again belong only to the private operators. Currently there is official place to leave the chappals and these too cost. Needless to say the lodging options rooms cost huge around the temple leaving the North Indians shocked. 

For a long time, the agents also organised darshan and the devotees had to shell out a bomb for darshan. By the time the devotees are out of the temple a lot of their money has already been taken away from them but they are in for a bigger shock. To take them to all the Theerthams is another money minting opportunity and here too devotees are at the mercy of the agents. 

It is refreshing to see the new EO taking positive devotee friendly steps soon after his taking charge. He has immediately put paid to agents fleecing the devotees for darshan with a process inside the temple complex that is now keeping the agents away. The queue system is being streamlined and devotees can expect a new experience and a relief from the fleecing agents who will be taken to task if they try to fleece the unwary devotees. Another new initiative by the HR & CE has been the periodic announcements made through a public address system to alert the devotees from not falling prey to the agents. A 30000 litre purified water tank is being installed to supply free water to the devotees. Across the temple complex, new fans have been installed this week for those standing in the queue for darshan. 

As another devotee friendly step, the new EO is planning to install lockers where 850 mobiles can be kept for Rs.  5each compared to the Rs. 20 that is being currently charged by the private shops. He is also setting up a free slipper facility where 1000 pairs can be kept at any point of time. 

For long the devotees have been splashing the vibhoothi handed to them by the priest on to the pillars. The EO is this month organising five lakh small packets that devotees could use to place the extra vibhoothi that remains after they sport on the forehead.

The official Yatri Nivas similar to the beautiful one in Srirangam has been handed to the tourism department. There is a huge 20000 sq ft  available space available in front of the railway station. Once the renovation of the station is complete, the temple authorities hope to launch this as a huge guest house that can provide accommodation to several hundreds of devotee families in one location. Through this exercise, the HR & CE hopes to further restrict the fleecing of the agents in this town.

The current contract with the devasthanam canteen is coming to an end shortly. This too has not been used appropriately in recent times. The HR & CE could look to modify this and look at devotee welfare measures at the huge space available.

The cloak room is in a dilapidated condition. The HR & CE  should set up an official locker system where the devotees can leave behind their baggage. There are also issues with the underground drainage system which has not been streamlined for many years. The HR & CE should work together with the local town authorities to modify the drainage system and take steps to provide bath and toilet facilities to the devotees. Free Battery cars have been successfully run in a few large temples in TN. While there are three battery cars at the temple’s disposal, this has not been put to use and here again the devotees are being charged by external operators. 

The HR & CE have to work towards providing a far better experience to devotees, especially to those from outside the state so they take back a positive feedback about this historical temple. At the moment, that enjoyable experience is missing and Rameswaram bound devotees from outside TN have only complaints about their experience in the way they have been fleeced in every corner of the town. 

The new EO seems keen to implement devotee friendly initiatives in this temple town. He had enjoyed a good short stint at the Ranganathaswamy temple in Srirangam earlier this year before moving into this high pressure temple. The good news is that he seems to be committed to provide a transformational experience to the several thousands that throng the temple these days and is hoping to be make a contribution to the devotee experience.  Will the HR & CE take action against the unauthorised agents and help devotees enjoy a devotional trip both to the temple and the theerthams.

The HR & CE minister PK Sekar Babu  (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2023/05/hr-ce-minister-sekar-babu-on-roll.html) has been a regular at many of the large temples across the state and showcased the initiatives taken under his reign. He should visit the Ramanathaswamy temple in Rameswaram to take stock of the current scenario and understand the way the devotees are being fleeced and why the HR & CE should launch official facilities to provide a far better experience to devotees.

This section will track the developments to see if the HR & CE will take positive action to provide the visitors with a more devotional experience right from the time they place their foot in Rameswaram.