HR&CE Department sets up mobile phone deposit centres at Arunachaleswarar and Sri Lakshminarasimhar temples

The Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Department has set up around 10 mobile phone deposit centres at Arunachaleshwarar Temple and Sri Lakshminarasimhar Temple in Tiruvannamalai and Sholinghur towns as part of enforcement of the ban on use of mobile phones inside temple premises from September 1.

Temple officials said the ban is aimed to encourage devotees to spend more time on spiritual activities in the temple rather than taking selfies with visiting dignitaries and shooting reels. “The ban on mobile phones also helps crowd management ,” said a HR&CE official.

A nominal fee of ₹5 for each deposited mobile phone will be charged.

Temple officials said five centres in each of these two temples were set up. Temple staff will be deployed at these centres. They will monitor the centres round-the-clock. CCTV cameras will be set up for better surveillance. and local police will also be deployed to assist temple staff at these centres.

Tokens would be issued for devotees for retrieval of their mobile phones. Temple officials said devotees found taking mobile phones inside the temple will be fined and the phones would be confiscated. “Ban on mobile phones in temples is a welcome measure as devotees listen to music, play games or speak to others while they wait in the queue. It disturbs other devotees,” said R. Vishnuvardhan, a devotee.

Temple officials said the rush during Chitra Pournami and holidays has steadily increased for the past few years. At Arunachaleshwar temple, around three to four lakh devotees especially from Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka throng the temple town during these days.