A day after MLA M.H. Jawahirullah raised the issue in the State Assembly, those residing near Sri Ramanathaswamy Temple here hoisted black flags at their houses, protesting against the ban on movement of vehicles in all the four temple car streets.
As the ban was in force for more than one-and-a-half years, the residents hoisted black flags in the north and south car streets, expressing their protest and urging the authorities to lift the ban immediately.
Bharatiya Janatha Party (BJP) national Council member and a resident of Rameswaram K. Muraleedharan said that the ban order affected normal life and posed difficulty for aged pilgrims and differently abled people.
When Mr. Jawahirullah raised the issue in the State assembly on Friday, Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam replied that there was no government order banning vehicle movements around the temple.
The police might have imposed the ban considering the security threat to the temple, he said.
Justifying the ban, Superintendent of Police N.M. Mylvahanan said that the ban was imposed in August 2013, after receiving specific inputs from the intelligence bureau that some intruders might land on Rameswaram coast and the iconic shrine could be one of their possible targets.
The black flag agitation was instigated by some vested interests and the police have served show cause notices to Hindu Makkal Katchi leader Prabakaran and one Ramakrishnan to explain as to why action should not be taken against them for instigating the stir in violation of court order.
He said that on the orders of Madurai Bench of Madras High Court, he held talks with all the stakeholders and allowed the residents to use vehicles. Arrangements have also been made for shopkeepers to park their two-wheelers, the SP said.
Even two weeks ago, the High Court had dismissed a petition challenging the ban after accepting the police stand that the ban was imposed purely on security point of view, the SP said adding “it is a settled matter in the court.”
The present arrangement helped to totally avoid vehicle congestion around the temple and widely welcomed by pilgrims. Battery cars were operated for the benefit of aged pilgrims. There was no single complaint from the pilgrims, he added.
