VIRUDHUNAGAR: The residents of Achankulam filed a petition to District Collector V P Jeyaseelan on Monday demanding a meeting to be held to make necessary arrangements to conduct their temple festival as per the customs.
In their petition, the Achankulam residents said the temple located in Manthoppu is common to the residents of Achankulam and Manthoppu, and that the poojas have been performed over the decades by a priest belonging to a particular clan from Achankulam village. "However in 2022, without the approval of the villagers, Manthoppu Panchayat President along with another person, called on another priest from Manthoppu to perform the poojas. Despite the disproval from the residents of both villages, the president and others did not listen," they said.
Following this, the villagers filed a petition with the police and Revenue Department. Later a peace talk was held and the festival was conducted peacefully. However, sources said that following the festival, the president took steps to conduct the poojas under the counsel of another priest, overruling the decision taken during the peace talk. "There is an ongoing court case in connection with performing the poojas," sources said, adding that the president, however, has started distributing notice for the upcoming festival in May which could trigger an issue between people from both villages. The residents requested the administration to hold a meeting on the issue.
An official from the revenue department said on Tuesday there would be a court hearing in connection with the case, and we that they have also given instructions to the people to proceed further, as per the directions from the court.