<p>Undergarments are still a no-no for employees involved in the counting of offerings at the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple, even 10 years after the Kerala State Human Rights Commission intervened to end the humiliating practice.</p>.<p>The Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB), which manages the hill shrine, restricts the counting staff from wearing underclothes to check smuggling of offerings like cash and gold coins in private parts. After duty, the employees are strip-searched again.</p>.<p>Around 200 employees work at the counters that receive offerings.</p>.<p>Despite several pleas by workers, there is no progress on moves to install advanced checking gadgets like body scanners and x-ray units.</p>.<p>The Travancore Devaswom Employees Front, which recently submitted fresh memorandums to the TDB, now plans to approach the Human Rights Commission again. Its president G Baiju told <span class="italic">DH</span> that even after the rights body’s 2008 order not to prevent employees from wearing undergarments and to stop their physical examination, the authorities were continuing the practice, citing isolated instances of workers trying to steal offerings.</p>.<p>“We are not opposed to checking, but against the ban on undergarments and the physical examination in the buff. There is no paucity of funds to install gadgets,” he said.</p>.<p>TDB president N Vasu said that instances of employees stealing offerings by hiding them in private parts were compelling the security staff to conduct physical examination. However, no stealing incidents have so far been reported during the current pilgrimage season. Vasu attributed the delay in procuring body scanners to cost and technical factors.</p>.<p class="CrossHead">Revenue at Rs 66 crore</p>.<p>The temple’s revenue in the current season that commenced on November 16 crossed Rs 66 crore as on December 5. The corresponding figure for 2018 was Rs 40 crore. </p>.<p>Offerings received at Sabarimala is the main source of TDB’s revenue which is being used to meet the expenses of several other temples under the board as well as towards the salaries and administrative expenses of the board.</p>
<p>Undergarments are still a no-no for employees involved in the counting of offerings at the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple, even 10 years after the Kerala State Human Rights Commission intervened to end the humiliating practice.</p>.<p>The Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB), which manages the hill shrine, restricts the counting staff from wearing underclothes to check smuggling of offerings like cash and gold coins in private parts. After duty, the employees are strip-searched again.</p>.<p>Around 200 employees work at the counters that receive offerings.</p>.<p>Despite several pleas by workers, there is no progress on moves to install advanced checking gadgets like body scanners and x-ray units.</p>.<p>The Travancore Devaswom Employees Front, which recently submitted fresh memorandums to the TDB, now plans to approach the Human Rights Commission again. Its president G Baiju told <span class="italic">DH</span> that even after the rights body’s 2008 order not to prevent employees from wearing undergarments and to stop their physical examination, the authorities were continuing the practice, citing isolated instances of workers trying to steal offerings.</p>.<p>“We are not opposed to checking, but against the ban on undergarments and the physical examination in the buff. There is no paucity of funds to install gadgets,” he said.</p>.<p>TDB president N Vasu said that instances of employees stealing offerings by hiding them in private parts were compelling the security staff to conduct physical examination. However, no stealing incidents have so far been reported during the current pilgrimage season. Vasu attributed the delay in procuring body scanners to cost and technical factors.</p>.<p class="CrossHead">Revenue at Rs 66 crore</p>.<p>The temple’s revenue in the current season that commenced on November 16 crossed Rs 66 crore as on December 5. The corresponding figure for 2018 was Rs 40 crore. </p>.<p>Offerings received at Sabarimala is the main source of TDB’s revenue which is being used to meet the expenses of several other temples under the board as well as towards the salaries and administrative expenses of the board.</p>
