Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com
CHENNAI, TAMIL NADU, INDIA, JUNE 14, 2009: In an effort to renovate old temples with help from benefactors, the Tamil Nadu government is offering an honorific title and “gold cards” to devotees who donate US$11,000 for the fund.
The government will confer the title Thirukkovil Puravalar (temple patron). The patrons will be presented a gold card carrying their photographs by the Hindu religious and endowment department. They will be entitled to special dharsan at all the temples managed by the department without any fee for 20 years.
As many as 38,000 temples, most of them cultural treasures, have been managed by the government across the state. Many temples including some of the ancient ones had been in dilapidated condition. The government could not carry out renovation works due to inadequate funds. Chief minister M Karunanidhi has instructed officials to create a corpus fund for temple renovation and encourage devotees thus, a government release said. It also drafted a detailed project to give a facelift to all the heritage temples in Tamil Nadu, both big and small.