Petition to Protect Chilkur Balaji Temple from Take Over by AP Government

[Guest guest]

Dear Friends:

 

As many of know that AP Government is trying to take over Chilkur Balaki

Temple. Campaign to protect the Temple from take over is on. Please go to

following link and sign the petition.

 

_http://www.protectchilukurubalajitemple.com/_

(http://www.protectchilukurubalajitemple.com/)

 

Please FORWARD it other friends.

 

Thanks

V. V. Prakasa Rao

 

 

 

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The Hindu wrote the following piece

 

Protest by Chilkur devotees goes online

M.L. Melly Maitreyi

Thousands respond to signature campaign launched against the State's move

 

 

__

Website appeals to devotees to join the movement Agitation is being

spearheaded by hereditary chief priest Soundara Rajan High Court gives 3-month

time

to State to decide on appointment of trust board

__

 

 

HYDERABAD: The protest of devotees against the decision of the Endowments

Department to take over Sri Balaji Temple, Chilkur, has gone hi-tech.

The number of signatures on the online campaign is increasing every minute

with devotees from India and abroad responding to the online petition placed

on the net through the website protectchilukurbala

jitemple.com.

Website launched

 

The website, launched by a devotee Kishore, describes the unique feature of

Chilkur temple as the only temple which does not have a hundi or tickets for

performing puja.

The movement is for preserving the atmosphere of devotion that prevails in

the temple and to protest against all moves of the Endowments Department to

commercialise it, the website says appealing to devotees to join the movement

being spearheaded by temple hereditary chief priest Soundara Rajan and

thousands of devotees against the move to take over the temple by the

Endowments

Department.

The online campaign titled `Protect Chilkur Balaji Temple from Endowments

Department' seem to have opened a new channel to devotees to pledge their

support and endorse the online petition to be submitted to President of India,

Prime Minister, Chief Justice, Leader of Opposition, Lok Sabha, Chief Minister

of Andhra Pradesh, Chief Justice of High Court.

The online petition also says the Endowments Department is misleading the

Government as well as public by citing the High Court order. The order has

given three months time for the Government to decide whether to appoint a Trust

Board or not. "The 500-year old temple, which stood up against the commercial

exploitation of devotees in the name of `darshan', `archana' and sale of

`prasadam' is today facing a very difficult situation."

The petition also says the Endowments Department is misleading the

Government as well as the public saying that the High Court order is against

the

present management. "In fact, the order has given three months time to the

Government to decide whether to appoint a trust board or not. If a trust board

is

appointed on March 12, 2006, this temple will also go the way of other temples

and become commercially exploited," it says.