Patiala, May 8
The collection of donations by private organisations on the premises of the historic Kali Devi temple, which is managed by the district administration, through establishment of stalls has come into focus, with a religious leader demanding that the stalls be removed immediately, and the district administration saying that though it does not approve of the stalls, it would prefer that a temple advisory committee, which is being constituted, take action in the matter.

Religious leader Harish Singla in a memorandum submitted to the Deputy Commissioner here yesterday said that it was a matter of shame that various private organisations had put up stalls in the temple premises. He said these included stalls of the Langar Committee, Gaushala Committee and the Sarovar Committee.

The leader said it was unfortunate that people sitting in these stalls exhorted people to contribute to their committees by standing in front of them when they came in to offer their obeisance in the temple. He said this disturbed the mental peace of the devotees and that the stalls should be removed from the temple premises immediately.

Mr Singla has also taken up other issues in the memorandum, including need to investigate the working of the gaushala in the temple premises. He has alleged that the gaushala has been virtually converted into a dairy farm and that very principle behind its foundation — that it would take care of old and sick cows — has been thrown to the winds. He said though the foundation of the gaushala had been done with high ideals by late Pawan Kumar Sharma, the same ideology was not being followed now. He said the entire working of the committee should be probed to ascertain whether it was broad-based or family-oriented.

Deputy Commissioner Jasbir Singh Bir, when contacted, said the administration did not approve of the establishment of stalls in the temple premises which were used to collect donations from the devotees by private organisations. He said remedial measures were needed but added that any action in the matter would only be taken after taking all devotees into confidence.

Mr Bir said though a committee had been proposed around two years ago, it could not be formed due to various reasons. He said now another committee was in the process of being established and this committee would be given the task of tackling the issue of placing of stalls to collect donations by private organisations in the temple premises. Giving other details, he said the Chief Minister had visited the temple recently and directed that funds should not come in the way of its beautification. He said the administration had already advertised asking renowned architects to devise plans to further beautify the temple, and that the task would be taken up shortly.

Meanwhile, Mr Ramesh Kumar, who is the vice-president of the Gaushala Committee, condemned Mr Harish Singla for submitting a memorandum which was aimed at destabilising the good work being done by the committee. He said anyone was free to inspect the gaushala to ascertain the work being done by the committee, adding that all records were being maintained meticulously and that the records had already been submitted for inspection to the district administration.

He said the committee was a registered one and had a number of regular donors on its list who were helping it in running the gaushala. He said the funds collected through the table installed in the temple premises are also regularly accounted for and was being used for provision of fodder to animals.

Other bodies, who also have tables on the temple premises, said all funds were accounted for and that the money being collected had been used for the construction of a huge langar hall besides running of regular langar for devotees twice in a day. They said the committees had also done development work in the temple premises and that a vilification campaign was being launched against them by vested interests.