THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The government will provide financial aid to the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) and Cochin Devaswom Board (CDB) to tide over the lockdown crisis. The first tranche of the aid will be released this week, it is learnt.
The TDB suffered losses worth Rs 200 crore since March 25. Following the relaxation of lockdown measures, 1,248 temples under the board had allowed entry of devotees for a brief period starting from June 9. However, a week later, the ban was reinstated following criticism from various quarters.
The board had requested the government to sanction Rs 160 crore in addition to the Rs 10 crore grant given in May to tide over the financial crisis. TDB requires Rs 40 crore every month for salary and pension payments alone. It has around 5,000 employees and less than 4,000 pensioners. An additional Rs 10 crore is required for purchase of pooja materials and establishment costs.
TDB president N Vasu told The New Indian Express that he expects the next tranche to be released next week. However, the exact amount is not known. "The online pooja offering system, introduced across 28 major temples, received a cold response except for the Sabarimala Lord Ayyappa temple," he said.
Sabarimala temple has been making an average of Rs 2 lakh per month since the facility was launched in April, he added. "It seems people have a mental block to conduct offerings without visiting the temple. Even the earnings at Sabarimala are quite low," he said.
As many as 406 temples under CDB allowed devotees entry since June 9. However, the revenue saw a nominal increase due to the lack of public transport facilities and crowd control measures at the shrines.
"The board suffered losses worth Rs 50 crore during the lockdown period and the government's assistance has been sought," said A B Mohanan, president, CDB. It is learnt that the government will sanction Rs 10 crore as immediate assistance to the board. CDB needs Rs 5.5 crore a month for salary and pension payments.
Mohanan said the board will launch an online offering facility. "We expect a good response as several temples under the board have a large number of devotees from other states. The facility will be of immense help to them, besides bringing some revenue for the board," he said. Talks are on with some banks and the facility is expected to be launched this month.