MADURAI: Following the controversy over the alleged construction of a new temple on the premises of the District Health Office in Viswanathapuram a few days ago, officials have clarified that the structure isn’t new and only pujas were performed.
Sources said a new temple was allegedly constructed within the District Health Office premises, and prayers were held on Thursday evening and Friday morning. Besides homam, abhishekam, and pujas were held. Later, an ‘annadhanam’ was also held.
The event was attended by the state director of public health, T S Selvavinayagam, District Health Officer (DHO) Dr P Kumaragurubaran, and other department staff. This raised concerns as the state government maintains a rule that no new religious structures should be constructed in any place.
Besides, Madurai MP Su Venkatesan condemned the organisation of such events in his X post. However, officials from the health department refuted these charges and termed them “baseless”.
Dr P Kumaragurubaran, District Health Officer, told TNIE, “A group of medical staff from our office organised the event, and we just joined in it, as we are local heads. Besides, we are also aware of the rules that prohibit the construction of new structures. In this case, the structure already existed for several decades. We didn’t violate any rules of the state government.”