Archakas’ federation demands increase in thasthik in Karnataka

The federation, in a press conference here on Monday, said it had requested a minimum monthly grant of ₹ 5,000 for puja materials and said even this revised amount would remain below the minimum wage fixed by the government. Other employees working in temples should be paid a minimum monthly salary of ₹5,000, the Federation said.

“More than 2 lakh people are continuously serving in temples across the state without any holidays. There are large numbers of assistants and support staff along with priests who perform daily worship. Many families also depend on small shops and related activities around the temples for their livelihood,” said KE Radhakrishna, president of the federation, and KSN Dixit, general secretary.

They said that despite the state government introducing various welfare schemes, almost 90% of Muzrai temples located in rural areas and classified under Class ‘C’ are not receiving adequate attention.

“It is laudable that more than 15,000 encroached properties have been converted into temples in recent years. However, in Bengaluru and many other urban and rural areas across the state, tens of thousands of acres of land and valuable properties remain under illegal encroachment. Therefore, a high-powered Special Task Force should be constituted within a certain time frame to recover these assets. If these properties are merged, many temples can become self-sufficient,” the federation said. he demanded.