TIRUCHY: With the ban on taking mobile phones inside temples coming into effect on September 1, the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Department has started creating deposit counters at five major temples in Tiruchy district.
The largest facility will come up at Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple, where counters will come up at the South, East and North entrances. Together, the counters will have a storage capacity of around 15,000 phones. Around 30 personnel from self help groups will handle the centres.
At Samayapuram Mariamman Temple, four counters are being arranged - two at the U Complex and one each at the North and South gates. The facilities will have a combined storage capacity of around 8,000 phones, and 20 personnel would be deployed. At Jambukeswarar Temple in Thiruvanaikoi, the counters will be available at West, East, North and South entrances. The total capacity would be 6,480 phones. Around 16 personnel will be deployed through self-help groups.
The Vekkali amman temple in Woraiyur will have two counters, to store 3,600 phones. Sixteen personnel will operate the facility. At the Rockfort Temple, a counter is being established at Yanaimadam.
The facility will have a capacity to store around 3,000 mobile phones and will be operated by four temple staff members.
All the deposit counters will be monitored through CCTV network/ Devotees will be charged Rs 5 per phone. Speaking to TNIE, a senior official in HR&CE department in Tiruchy said, “Some temples already have mobile phone deposit facilities, but the arrangements were either non-functional or inadequate. They have been revived and expanded.”
“Most devotees come with their families. Depending on the number of devotees, especially during festival periods, the storage capacity will be increased accordingly,” the official said. The official said the restriction applies only to mobile phones and not any other electronic device.
“The restriction is welcome as devotees come to temples to prayer and peace, not to watch people taking reels. If the deposit counters ensure the safe return of phones without long waiting time, devotees will cooperate,” said S Giri, a devotee.
