Better facilities for visitors at Srirangam this Ekadasi

This year, it is going to be a great challenge to control the crowd as Ekasasi, the opening of the heavenly gates in Srirangam, coincides with Christmas. As a result, the temple management has, to start with, suspended the issuance of VIP passes that was misused in previous years. However, the joint commissioner in charge of the temple, Kalyani, said badges would be issued to dignitaries.

District collector Jayashree Muralidharan has proposed the idea of constructing toilets inside the temple premises as in Tirupathi as older people had to wait for hours together to get the darshan of Sri Ranganathaswamy. The chairman of the board of trustees, R Seshasayee, has promised to take the idea forward and do the needful without upsetting the time-honoured traditions.

Jayashree has also instructed the police to issue vehicle passes to residents who live in the vicinity of the temple as traffic would be closed between December 23 and 25 from the Ammamandapam Road.

At the first round of consultations with all stakeholders, the collector gave a dressing down to BSNL which was more interested in selling simcards rather than providing telecom connectivity to people. "Since we all use BSNL, this is a must," Jayashree told a BSNL representative.

Since private vehicles will not be allowed beyond the start of Ammamandapam Road, Trichy East MLA Manoharan mooted the idea of the state transport offering free service to devotees from Ammamandapam to Tiruvanaikovil, the loop that intersects the Rajagopuram, the grand entrance to the temple.

State transport corporation's Trichy-based general manager N Pasupathy told TOI that the request for free rides was received at his office, and would be implemented with the help of a willing sponsor.

Another first this year would be the round-the-clock Annadhanam which would be extended to another 3,000 people a day, taking the total to 5,000 beneficiaries on a given day. Moreover, the coconut leaf thatching would be replaced with tin sheds to avoid risk of fire. The Electricity Board has assured that despite frequent unscheduled shutdowns, the temple would get uninterrupted power supply during the crucial three days of the festival and workers would be deployed at the transformers round-the-clock.

The deputy police commissioner (Traffic and Crime) S Selvakumar who took over a couple of months ago, said he was himself caught in the crowd last year and as a result had to beat a hasty retreat from the temple. "This year we will provide security with a 3,000-strong force and I will instruct them to deal with the public with kindness," he said.

Corporation commissioner Dhandapani was asked to remove roadside flower sellers from Sathaara Street and shunt them to the authorized market place that had been exclusively constructed but lying idle for more than 15 months now.

Extraordinary precautions are necessary as Srirangam was the scene of a major fire tragedy in which 64 people including a bridegroom were killed by a lethal blaze that devastated a marriage hall eight years ago. "But our Ranganathaswamy will save us all as always," said the district collector.