Prasnam issue snowballs

SABARIMALA: In clear violation of temple practices and keeping the Travancore Devaswom Board in the dark, a ‘prasnam’ was held at the Lord Ayyappa Temple here under the initiative of Sabarimala administrative officer K Rajan  on Wednesday.  Devaswom Minister V S Sivakumar has sought a report from the TDB  on the row.  The ‘prasnam’ was held under the leadership of Irinjalakkuda Padmanabha Sarma for the installation of a new golden flagmast at Sabarimala on the ground that the colours of the mast were fading. Prior to the ‘prasnam,’  the ‘permission’ of the deity has to  be sought through the thantri. Though the administrative officer met the thantri to get his consent for the prasnam, he had reportedly turned down the request. The thantri should light the traditional lamp marking the beginning of the ‘prasnam’ and perform the rasi pooja.   Both the practices were violated during the ‘prasnam’. Rajan was the administrative officer of the Ettumannur Sree Mahadeva Temple when the construction of the new golden flagmast without the prior sanction of Thantri Kandararu Maheswararu invited corruption charges.TDB president M  Rajagopalan Nair said  he was not told of the ‘prasnam’ held on Wednesday. Normally, the board should give its consent for a ‘prasanam’ after getting clearance from the thantri.The board would seek an explanation from the administrative officer for the violation of the practices, he said.