The ban on devotees and the general public carrying mobile phones inside 52 major temples under the control of the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Department came into effect across Tamil Nadu on Tuesday.
The measure has been introduced to preserve the sanctity and spiritual atmosphere of temples and to prevent photography, videography, selfies and reels inside temple premises. The department’s directions are also in line with an earlier Madras High Court order.
Temple authorities have arranged secure mobile phone storage facilities near entrances and footwear counters. Devotees can deposit their mobile phones by paying a uniform fee of Rs.5 and collect them after darshan. Receipts are to be issued for deposited phones.
Among the temples covered under the first phase are Kapaleeswarar Temple in Mylapore, Devi Karumariamman Temple in Thiruverkadu, Subramania Swamy Temple in Tiruttani, Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple in Madurai, Dhandayuthapani Swamy Temple in Palani, Ramanathaswamy Temple in Rameswaram, Subramania Swamy Temple in Tiruchendur, Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple in Srirangam, Samayapuram Mariamman Temple, Arunachaleswarar Temple in Tiruvannamalai, Thanumalayan Temple in Suchindram, Kallalagar Temple in Madurai, Parthasarathy Swamy Temple in Tiruvallikeni, Vadapalani Andavar Temple, Bannari Mariamman Temple, Marudamalai Subramaniyaswamy Temple, Kamakshi Amman Temple in Mangadu, Thyagaraja Swamy Temple in Tiruvottiyur, Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple in Sholinghur, Sangameswarar Temple in Bhavani, Brihadeeswarar Temple in Thanjavur, Thirukutralanathar Temple in Tenkasi and Sathya Gnana Sabha Vallalar Deiva Nilayam in Vadalur.
The HR&CE Department has instructed temple authorities to display notices at entrances and create awareness among devotees about the restriction. Temples have also been directed to prevent unauthorised photography, videography and social media recordings inside the premises.
The department has made arrangements to expand the phone storage facilities according to the number of devotees visiting each temple, particularly during festival periods.
