SABARIMALA: The melsanthi of Sabarimala temple V K Jayaraj Potti went into quarantine as three priests at the hill shrine tested Covid positive on Wednesday. The Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) has decided to revamp the safety precautions in view of the incident. TDB president N Vasu said the temple rituals will not be affected due to the development.
Thantri Kandararu Rajeevaru or a person deputed by him will take care of the temple rituals, he said. “The melsanthi has gone into quarantine after three priests tested Covid positive. The board has taken all steps to ensure that daily poojas and rituals are not affected due to the absence of the Melsanthi.
The thantri is present at the temple and he will take care of the poojas. He can also entrust the job with a priest. Last year another priest had taken care of the poojas after the melsanthi got infected with chicken pox,” said Vasu. Meanwhile, the Hindu Aikya Vedi demanded the resignation of TDB president as the decision to conduct the festival has led to a situation where the rituals are obstructed.
“The Sabarimala melsanthis are resident priests and they cannot leave the place for one year. We had demanded to restrict the festival to rituals and deny permission to pilgrims at the hill shrine. The decision to admit pilgrims has proved costly. The TDB cannot give the charge of melsanthi to another person as it will be a violation of the temple practices,” said general secretary R V Babu.