KURNOOL: The supervision of temples has become a major challenge for the endowments department officials as more than 44 per cent of the posts of executive officers are lying vacant in Rayalaseema alone. Of 148 sanctioned posts of executive officers, only 82 officers are working in the four districts of Rayalaseema -- Kurnool, Kadapa, Anantapur and Chittoor. The remaining 66 posts have been lying vacant for the last four to five years.
On an average, each executive officer monitors at least 155 temples in his jurisdiction. As per endowments records, there are a total of 12,964 temples (small and big) in the region - Kurnool 3,866, Kadapa 3,046, Anantapur 2,832 and Chittoor 3,220.
To monitor these temples, the sanctioned posts of executive officers are 148 including 61 in Kurnool, 33 each in Kadapa and Anantapur and 21 in Chittoor. But, 66 posts were lying vacant including 31 in Kurnool, 15 in Kadapa, 14 in Anantapur and six in Chittoor.
A temple EO, on condition of anonymity, said due to the non-filling of posts, the EOs are burdened with work and are unable to monitor the temples regularly. “I myself am handling more than 150 temples in four mandals of Kurnool district,’’ the officer said. He further said that the government stopped recruitment in the department for over 10 years except those appointed on compassionate grounds on a few occasions.
The monitoring of temples, more particularly their security, has become a tough task in the present situation where the attacks on temples are hogging the limelight.
Speaking to The New Indian Express, Endowments Deputy Commissioner Subba Rao said CCTV cameras were installed in all temples. Efforts are being made to open temples all through the year. On the staff crunch, he said proposals have already been sent to the government to fill the existing vacancies and provide all the required infrastructure needed for regular conduct of temple rituals.