Priests stopped from entering west tower at Kanchi temple protest

After the death of four people due to suffocation last week, Kancheepuram district Collector ordered the closure of the path. Since then, devotees were allowed to only worship Aththi Varadhar but were not permitted to worship the statue of Manavala Mamunigal.

On Monday night, hundreds of priests in the temple tried to enter inside the west tower but were stopped by the police. It led to a wordy quarrel and finally a protest inside the temple. They claimed that as per the customs, they were supposed to enter only through the west tower and meet Mamunigal.

Maintaining that they had nothing against rules that have been brought in for public safety, they said it, however, should not affect the customs and rituals that were being followed for centuries.

Receiving information, Revenue, police and district administration officials arrived at the spot and held talks to pacify the protesters. They were assured that the issue would be taken to the knowledge of the Collector and would take steps to allow them inside the west tower in a couple of days. Following that, they gave up the protest and dispersed.

For about an hour, the protest affected other devotees who were waiting to worship Aththi Varadhar.