Mumbai: Siddhivinayak Temple's offering ban draws vendor ire over 'selective restrictions'

As a result of the ongoing tensions between India and Pakistan several security measures have been taken at multiple levels across the city Since Siddhivinayak Temple in Prabhadevi has been repeatedly placed as one of the locations on the threat radar by the Mumbai police the temple authority has stopped the sale of some offerings that include coconuts sweets and big garlandsWhatrsquos bannedldquoWe were advised by the Mumbai police to take measures that will lead to quick movement of people and will ensure that no huge crowd is gathered at the gabhara sanctum sanctorum for longer durations Thus we conducted a meeting and decided that if we ban these offerings it will make people take darshan and move quickly instead of them making the offering waiting there to take back the offered coconuts in the form of prasad and then moving out of the gabharardquo said Pawan Tripathi treasurer of Siddhivinayak Temple CommitteePawan TripathildquoItrsquos a matter of national security We cannot neglect the advisory given by the police department What if someone misses the eyes of security personnel and enters the premises with poisonmixed sweets and distributes it as prasad Thus only authorised prasad given by the temple staff is being allowedrdquo said Rahul Londhe member Siddhivinayak Temple CommitteeAuthorities respondldquoWe understand that many families are dependent on the sale of these products largely coconuts However considering the current situation we unfortunately cannot guarantee when they will be allowed to start the sale again as coconuts are a risky affair But we are trying to bring back normalcy at the earliestrdquo said TripathiRahul LondheMNS leader Yashwant Killedar has hinted at taking action if the ban extends beyond four to five days two days of which have already passed He said ldquoWe understand the security concerns But selling flowers photo frames allowing devotees to take darshan and selling their laddoosmdashis going on as usual This raises doubts about the true intentions of the temple authorities It seems like the temple is trying to boost its revenue as people might now put the money they wouldrsquove spent on the coconut thali directly into the templersquos donation boxrdquoShopkeepers worriedldquoItrsquos been two days since we have shut the shop Itrsquos a loss of at least Rs 5000 per day I am the only one earning in my house and I have responsibility for five peoplemdashmy wife my ailing parents and my two daughters who are still studying I also have three boys who work at my shop When such decisions are taken many families get affectedmdasheither directly or indirectlyrdquo said Vishwanath Naik who is a thirdgeneration coconut seller at the templeYashwant KilledarldquoWe do not understand the logic behind shutting the sale of coconuts sweets and garlands but keeping the temple open for the devotees If the threat is real and so severe why keep the temple open As a matter of security the temple authorities have full right to stop the big garlands from entering the gabhara sanctum sanctorum But many people bring their new cars here from the showroom who require these big garlands At least that should be allowed I am paying my sonrsquos CBSE school fees in quarterly instalment because after paying salaries of three employees and keeping the procurement money aside I earn around Rs 40000 a month which I have to use to take care of four members in my familyrdquo said Sameer Rangnekar who has been selling coconuts and sweets for over three decades at the templeVishwanath Naik coconut seller right Swapnali Chandvekar shopkeeperldquoI have a home loan the EMI of which is around Rs 30000 per month Itrsquos a minimum loss of Rs 75000 if the ban continues for 15 days We just request that when the committee has beefed up the security and is also planning to improve it further then why canrsquot they allow us to sell our products All our materials anyway get scanned before we unload them in our respective shopsrdquo said Swapnali Chandvekar another shopkeeper at the templeatOptionskeyd0ddb8ef8f1a62a8cdd22fac27fc5ea7formatiframeheight90width728params