Cout appoints Advocate commissioner

The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court today appointed an advocate commissioner to visit the famous Navapashana Navagraha temple at Devipattinam and submit a report on the environment prevailing there including the hygiene condition, pollution by tourists and local body.
Justice R Sudhakar and Justice V M Velumani also wanted the advocate commissioner to report about the basic amenities available at the temple and suggestions for improving the amenities.
The bench was hearing a PIL by a local resident Murugesan said due to the unhygienic condition prevailed in the temple with plastic and sewage pollution, the idols, which were believed to be self created or installed by Lord Rama himself got corroded.

People from allover India visited the temple to appease the Navagrahas and offer seeds of various food grains.
He charged that the local body did not maintain the temple properly. There was no amenity for the pilgrims for taking bath or changing clothes. The sea where the Navagraha idols were located were highly polluted.
He also wanted the court to direct the government to handover the temple to the Hindu religious and charitable endowment.

The Government counsel submitted that the temple had been takenover by the Hindu religious and charitable endowment. But the local body was not allowing the fit-person to function,and administer the temple.

The court directed that the temple should be administered only by the HR and CE fit person while the Local body should maintain the surroundings of the temple.
The chairman of the devipattinam Panchayat Zhakir Hussain who was present in the court was asked to give an undertaking that the temple surroundings would be maintained by them.
The Devipattinam Navapashana Navagrahas in Ramanathapuram district has nine deities of Navagrahas installed in the sea near to the shore in the village.