Row over fish farming at temple ponds in Kerala

In a suspected bid to trigger religious sentiments, an online campaign was being carried out that the Devaswom Boards in Kerala that manages temples, alleging that it has decided to allow fish farming at temple ponds.

With several eminent personalities also joining the issue, the Travancore Devaswom Board had even issued a clarification that no such decision was taken. The Malabar Devaswom Board authorities also said that the allegation that fish farming was being initiated at the famous Lokanarkavu temple pond in Kozhikode district was baseless.

There were even reports in the social media that fish farming was being initiated at all temple ponds under the Travancore Devaswom Board and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan would be conducting an online inauguration of the scheme.

Hence the board was forced to issue a clarification and its president N Vasu urged the devotees not to believe in such fake reports.

Malabar Devaswom Board president O K Vasu alleged that it was a deliberate attempt by some Hindutva outfits to trigger religious sentiments against the government. No decision to allow fish farming at temple ponds under the Malabar Devaswom was initiated.

He, however, added that if any private temple that is now struggling to meet expenses owing to Covid-19 allows fish farming in ponds to generate some revenue, they can't be blamed.

Many temple ponds in the state were rich with freshwater fishes and devotees used to feed the fishes with rice as part of traditions and there are also various beliefs associated with the fishes in temple ponds.

Hence even during cleaning of ponds, the fishes would be shifted to alternative tanks and would be deposited in other ponds. Temples would not sell fish for consumption purpose, said a Travancore Devaswom Board official.

Among those who joined the issue included former Kerala state police chief T P Senkumar who said that temple pond fishes should never be made fish farms as the fishes in temple ponds were not meant for consumption.