It refers to welcome news about South Delhi Municipal Corporation SDMC at last working on a dream-project of developing famous Kalkaji Temple and its surroundings in Delhi with help of some company under Corporate-Social-
Management of Kalkaji Temple should be run on lines of famous Tirupati Temple in South India where huge earnings by way of offerings and sale-resale of coconuts and other items of worships should be utilized for public-welfare schemes with effective government-control in management.
Presently priests controlling the temple as per dynastic traditions run Kalkaji-temple like business-shops selling VVIP-passes in Navratras at exorbitant high costs for Darshan just near the deity. People seated on high posts in legislature, bureaucracy, and police enjoy such privilege without any cost further flattered through special Prasad and other puja-items. Otherwise priests are very arrogant towards commoners who are made to stand in long queues for a hasty Darshan of the deity from a distance obstructed by VVIPs doing puja inside the deity-enclosure itself.
Even management of world-renowned Sai-temple at Shirdi has stopped special treatment to VVIPs by disallowing priority Darshan in peak days around New Year Day on 1st January when the temple attracts maximum crowd. At least right to worship should be equal for all. It happens only in India that VVIPs are de-facto self-made gods getting undue favour at religious places. Even everything is very well managed at famous Pashupatinath Temple at Kathmandu in Nepal. Premises is always very clean with official receipts given for different types of pujas with rates fixed and date of puja booked in advance. Priests are given a handsome fixed salary besides commission on money collected through offerings and for bookings of pujas. Prasad and puja-items are given after the puja, cost of which is included in the official puja-cost.
MADHU AGRAWAL