NAGAPATTINAM: Chief Minister MK Stalin on Wednesday issued the order for release of 45 kilograms of free sandalwood to Nagore Dargah in Nagapattinam for its 467th annual Kanduri festival, which will commence today. The paste ground from it will be applied on the tombs of the saints buried at the dargah and also will be distributed among visiting devotees.
The dargah administration had earlier placed a request with the state government for the sandalwood. Accordingly, the CM handed over the order for its release to the dargah’s hereditary trustee, S Alhaj Syed Kamil Qadri, managing trustee S Kazi Hussain Sahib and advisory committee president S Syed Mohamed Kalifa Sahib Qadri, at the secretariat in Chennai.
Once the sandalwood is received, dargah staff will begin grinding it by December 17 and complete the process by December 22. The dargah’s advisory committee president expressed gratitude to the chief minister for issuing free sandalwood for the second consecutive year.
Minister for Minorities Welfare Department Gingee KS Masthan, Minister for Forests M Mathiventhan, Chief Secretary Shiv Das Meena, Additional Chief Secretary Supriya Sahu and Tamil Nadu Fisheries Development Corporation Chairman N Gowthaman were present during the order issuance.
Meanwhile, the dargah administration has urged the CM to release the Rs 2 crore that the state government announced towards the shrine’s renovation and also process the proposal for Rs 6 crore to develop tourism in Nagore. The CM assured to consider the requests, the members added.