Medical centre inaugurated in seven Tamil Nadu temples

Seven temples in Tamil Nadu managed by the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) department will have medical centres with two dedicated doctors each to provide first-aid and basic treatment to devotees who develop a sudden illness.

The medical centres in seven temples spread across the state were inaugurated on Friday by Chief Minister M K Stalin at the Secretariat through video conferencing. The HR & CE department in its Demand for Grants had announced setting up of medical centres in 10 temples that attract huge crowds – as the first step, the centres will function from seven temples from Friday.

The temples where medical centres were inaugurated on Friday are Murugan temples in Tiruttani, Tiruchendur, Palani, and Marudhamalai, Arunachaleswarar Temple in Tiruvannamalai, Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple in Sholingur, and Angalaparameshwari temple in Melmalayanur.

A release from the HR & CE department said the medical centres will have two doctors, two nurses, and two multi-disciplinary staff each to provide first-aid and basic treatment to devotees who develop a sudden illness. The medical centres will have first-aid kits, oxygen cylinders, beds, and blood pressure apparatus, among others.

Officials said Rs 30 lakh will be spent on each centre every year from temple funds. Under the DMK government, HR & CE department is set to launch 10 arts and science colleges, besides a Siddha University under the Lord Murugan Temple in Palani in the pipeline.

As many as 44,121 temples in Tamil Nadu come under HR & CE department which manages and controls them. The department is also reviving six Archakar Payirchi Palli (Priests’ Training Schools) to train people from all communities as priests.

All the six schools, which were set up by the then DMK Government in 2007, have invited applications from interested students between the age of 14 and 24 for the one-year course to get trained as priests. Only one batch of students passed out from the schools in 2008 after which they were closed due to a slew of court cases and a change of regime in 2011.

The four schools that will train students in Shaivite tradition are located in Tiruvannamalai, Madurai, Palani, and Tiruchendur, while the Parthasarathy Temple in Chennai and Ranganatha Swamy Temple in Srirangam will train students in Vaishnavite tradition.

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