KOCHI: The temples under Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) will not allow bali tarpanam, the ritual to pay homage to departed souls, on Karkidaka vavu day, this year. The event falls on August 8. A meeting of the TDB held on Friday decided to avoid the event, in view of the Covid situation prevailing in the state, as it will lead to crowding at temples and ghats.
TDB president N Vasu said the board is facing an acute cash crunch as the temples have remained closed during the lockdown. Though the temples were opened on June 24, only 15 devotees are allowed at a time. He said the government has allocated `10 crore to the board last week.
“We are receiving less than 10 per cent of the amount required for administration through offerings. So the board has urged the government to provide more funds to meet the salary and bonus expenses during Onam season,” he told TNIE.
“Though the government granted permission to allow 10,000 pilgrims a day during the five-day monthly poojas at Sabarimala in July, only 11,412 devotees visited the temple. The revenue at Sabarimala this month was only `90 lakh, which was not enough to meet the expenses at the hill shrine,” he said.