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NT Bureau
Chennai, July 3:

        Grama Koil Poojarigal Peravai, an organisation working for uplift of priests of village temples, plans to thank Chief Minister M Karunanidhi for implementing several welfare measures for their benefit.

        Addressing a press conference here yesterday R R Gopalji, trustee of Grama Koil Poojarigal Peravai, said the village temples were in existence for centuries and the priests taking care of these temples were mostly economically backward.

        VHP has started Grama Koil Poojari Peravai for the uplift of village priests.

        He said the organisation made a representation to the government of Tamilnadu about the condition of the village priests and requested it to take measures like provision of pensions, maternity allowance and help for higher education.

        It had also sought a welfare board for the priests. To this, Gopalji said, the State government had given a nod to their requests and subsequently formed a welfare board under the chairmanship of HR & CE Minister of Tamilnadu and nine persons from Grama Koil Poojarigal Peravai are its members while the other nine members were government officials.

        He further said that some of the schemes for the welfare of village priests were implemented.

        He added that subsequently about 3,500 priests started getting a monthly pension of Rs 750. Now they were trying to extend that to another 10,000 priests he said.

        The peravai also sought insurance cover for priests R S Narayanaswamy, general secretary, VHP, and A K Soundararajan, organising secretary of Grama Koil Poojarigal Peravai, were also present at the press conference.