Hyderabad, October 29: Temples across the state fell silent as priests and temple employees went on a strike demanding higher wages.
With priests boycotting the arjita sevas (special pujas), devotees had to be content to see the daily pujas.
Some of the temples broke with ages-old traditions by not performing mandatory pujas to the deities.
For instance, the daily Kalyanam of Lord Narasimha Swamy at the Dharmapuri temple went unperformed, unheard of in the history of the temple.
The priests and temple employees are demanding pay scales recommended by the Pay Revision Commission.
Currently, archakas are paid `400-500 for their service at some temples.
The state government expressed its helplessness.
Endowments minister Gade Venkat Reddy said the government was aware of the difficulties of priests and temple staff but a decision can be taken only after the Justice Venkatram Reddy Committee submits its report on the matter in January.
Further, the government cannot fund the salaries of priests as temples operated on the basis of revenue earned through contributions from devotees and income from temple properties, he said.
–Agencies