NHRC seeks report on pilgrim facilities, safety arrangements at Guruvayur temple

The NHRC has sought a comprehensive action taken report on facilities and arrangements for pilgrims at Guruvayur Sree Krishna Temple in Thrissur. The report will cover prasadam quality, crowd management, food safety, grievance redressal, accessibility, employee conduct, traffic and security

Thiruvananthapuram: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has sought an action taken report on facilities and arrangements for pilgrims at the famed Guruvayur Sree Krishna Temple in Thrissur district.

The NHRC intervention followed a complaint filed by Kochi-based RTI activist K Govindan Nampoothiry, who said it was aimed at protecting pilgrims’ rights and ensuring basic facilities at the temple.

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The copy of the order was shared with the media on Thursday by the activist.

The Commission has directed the Thrissur District Magistrate to submit a comprehensive report within four weeks on issues including prasadam meals, crowd management, food safety, grievance redressal and security arrangements at the shrine.

The report should detail the status, composition, responsibilities and inspection frequency of the standing committee constituted to monitor the quality of prasadam meals, according to the complaint petitioner.

The NHRC has also sought details of special arrangements for senior citizens, women, persons with disabilities and sick devotees, besides the existing queue-management system, the activist said in a statement.

Details of food-safety and hygiene inspections conducted over the past 12 months at the prasadam dining facility and preparation centres, along with the procedures currently followed, have also been sought.

The report should include the status of the grievance-redressal mechanism and the feasibility of introducing online complaint registration and tracking, Nampoothiry said.

The Commission has further sought details of measures to improve and monitor the conduct of Devaswom employees towards devotees, the basis for fixing rates of offerings and the date of their last revision, besides the quality-control mechanism for raw materials.

Details of the operational status of CCTV cameras inside and around the temple and the mechanism for monitoring them have also been sought, he said.

The NHRC has separately directed the Thrissur District Collector and Thrissur City Police Commissioner to jointly coordinate and submit a report within four weeks on traffic regulation, crowd management and security arrangements in and around the temple premises.

It has also directed the state Chief Secretary to examine the feasibility of constituting a permanent multi-stakeholder monitoring committee comprising representatives of the Devaswom, district administration, Food Safety Authority, senior citizens and persons with disabilities, besides independent members.

The proposed committee would continuously monitor facilities at Guruvayur Temple, grievance-redressal mechanisms and the conduct of employees, and submit a consolidated report within four weeks, the activist said quoting the NHRC directive.