Thaindian News

Panaji, July 12 (IANS) After two temples in Goa restricted the entry of scantily dressed tourists into their premises, a rightwing organisation here Tuesday demanded that the ban be extended to all temples in the state.

“The action taken to maintain the holiness of the temple is ideal for all temples,” said Jayesh Thali, convenor of the Gomantak Mandir and Dharmik Sanstha Mahasangh (GMDSM).

“All other temples in Goa should necessarily act in the same way taking this as an ideal,” said Thali, whose GMDSM was formed a couple of years back as a manpower oriented force to curb the rising number of thefts in temples and other religious structures in Goa.

Last month, the 450-year-old Mahalsa Narayani temple in Ponda, 30 km from here, had banned the entry of foreigners, when they were found entering the temple ‘inappropriately dressed’ or were found kissing within its sanctum.

Another popular temple at Mangueshi, near Ponda, had also imposed dress restrictions on its visitors.

According to Thali, foreign tourists very often display scant respect to local customs and deities and are not a good influence on other devotees.

“Tourists enter the temple in very short dresses and their behaviour too is objectionable. They enter the temple wearing garland around their neck and then the same garland is offered to the deity,” Thali told IANS.

“They put the holy water (teerth) given by the priest again in the pot containing the teerth. Local devotees often express their displeasure over such acts,” he said.

“This amounts to dishonour of dharma… Temples are not meant for tourists, they are meant for devotees of the deity. It is ideal to have some restrictions on the tourists to maintain the sanctity of the temple,” he said.