Clean hill, light Karthigai Deepam atop Tiruparankundram, says L Murugan

MADURAI: Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting, L Murugan, visited the Kasi Viswanathar temple in Tiruparankundram and remarked that the Madurai hill was poorly maintained, with garbage left uncollected and lacking basic facilities for devotees.

Talking to reporters, Murugan appealed to the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) department to make proper maintenance of the Tiruparankundram hill, and devotees should allowed to access the hill temple without any conditions.

“There’s a harmony between Kasi and Tiruparankundram as many devotees aspire to have a spiritual connection with these two sacred places,” he said.

Pointing to the non-veg row, he commented, “Recently, somebody caused unwanted problems to the Hindus at Tiruparankundram as they acted against rituals. The State should take stern action against them. The entire hill of Tiruparankundram, except for 33 cents, belongs to Lord Murugan as declared legally in 1931 but the State wrongly recorded it as Sikkandhar Hill in 1983, contradicting the verdict.”

He also urged that the HR&CE department should come forward and light Karthigai Deepam atop Tiruparankundram hill, noting that devotees have been demanding this for over three decades despite a 1994 court verdict allowing the department to conduct the ritual.

Further, Murugan said the National Education Policy is not new, but was created forty years ago to suit the needs of youth, their growth and help them prepare to compete at their best. The new NEP-2024-25 will allow students to learn education in their own mother tongue, he said.