HRCE pulls back mobile ban Srirangam Temple

Thoughtless Instinctive Approach of the HRCE

In a U-Turn within two days, the HRCE has pulled back the ban on mobile phones inside the Ranganathaswamy temple 

The inexperience of the new HRCE ministry has once again come to light. In a dramatic U turn, the HRCE has pulled back the ban on mobile phones within two days of its implementation. For starters, at the Ranganathaswamy temple in Srirangam, the temple authorities have decided to revoke the ban for three days - Friday-Sunday when the crowds are huge,  bringing to light the lack of preparedness to handle the big crowd. There are a total of over 2000 mobile lockers put together at the three entry points but given the congested place at the Therku Vaasal, it would be a big challenge for the authorities to manage the crowd that would continuously be handing in and taking back the mobiles from the same counter.

On Puratasi Saturdays, the first of which is just a fortnight away, there is likely to be 50000 devotees at the temple. Even 10% of them handing their mobiles at the counter would make it an unmanageable task for the HRCE staffers unless they are trained to handle this workload of collecting and handing back the mobiles. And the crowd is likely to be inside the temple till past 11pm on Puratasi Saturdays. The mobile counters cannot close at 9pm because the shift of the HRCE staff ends then.

This section had last month predicted a chaotic first few days at the mobile counters, one that was to serve as an alert to the HRCE to be well prepared for what they were to face in the first few days of the ban. But they were ill prepared and saw the full wrath of the devotees in the initial couple of days that has led them to revoke the ban. The ill preparedness and the lack of thought on the part of the HRCE showcased itself on day one at the Ranganathaswamy temple in Srirangam (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2026/08/srirangam-temple-mobile-ban-sept-1.html).

Poorly thought out decision

The temple authorities, without foresight, decided to stop receiving mobile phones at the counter after 8pm even though the darshan at the temple was to go on till well past 10pm on September 1. It was the Satru Murai evening of the Pavitrotsavam and Namperumal was to listen to the Padippu on this final evening before he headed back to his abode. And then the devotees were to have darshan of the deeparaathanai in front of the moolavar Sannidhi- this was to take place well past 9.30pm. The Ranganayaki Thayar Sannidhi too was to be open till 9pm and the Mangalaarathi to take place after 9.15pm.

Given this schedule, it did not make logical sense to stop receiving mobile phones at the counter after 8pm. Also, the HRCE staffers at the counter whose daily work schedule was to end at 9pm informed the devotees that they had to collect the mobiles back before 9pm sending shivering thoughts in the devotees to return back quickly.

It was a thoughtless approach from the HRCE authorities in Srirangam. When the Sannidhis were to be open till 930pm and devotees were inside the temple, how could you force them to come back and pick up the mobiles before 9pm just because the HRCE staff’s shift was to end at 9pm.

This as predicted created chaotic scenes at the Therku Vaasal counter with outstation devotees expressing their wrath at the staff’s refusal to receive the mobile phone at 8.15pm. These devotees told the staff at the counter that the temple was still open and questioned the reason to not receive the mobile when the sannidhis were still open.

Also, they questioned the staff as to how they could come back before 9pm when darshan was possible till well after 9.30pm on Tuesday evening (Sept 1). One devotee couple who had come from Coimbatore were caught in a tangle – should they go for darshan and risk not picking up the phone before 9pm when they had a latenight train back to Coimbatore. Another set of devotees told this writer that they came back in a hurry without having darshan to reach the counter before 9pm.

New mobile counter takes away devotee space

It was a poorly managed first day by the HRCE at the Ranganathaswamy temple in Srirangam. The voices rose elsewhere too in other temples in Tamil Nadu. At the Akilandeswari entrance in Thiruvanaikaval, the HRCE built a mobile counter complex inside the North entrance at a location where the devotees sit back for a few minutes after darshan. This construction has taken away the entire sitting space leaving not an inch for the devotees.

Hitting out at the previous HRCE ministry for every delay and thoughtless instinctive approach on important issues as this Mobile ban has become an early feature of the new HRCE ministry. The early phase shows that they are not ready to listen to the devotees’ voice.

For two days, life had gone back to the 1980s at the Ranganathaswamy temple in Srirangam with devotees having face to face conversations with one another while standing in the queue at the Thayar and Perumal Sannidhi for they were deprived of their mobile phones for the first time in many years. And it seemed a positive turnaround for people were getting to greet and talk to each other. On this Krishna Jayanthi Friday morning, its back to the new normal with phones being allowed inside the temple and devotees have got their eyes back to the mobile phones away!!!