Srikalahasti temple revives ₹500-priced Rahu-Ketu puja following backlash from devotees

Tirupati: The Srikalahasteeswara Swamy Devasthanam, an ancient Shiva temple situated near Suvarnamukhi river at Srikalahasti, has revoked the decision to scrap its popular ‘Rahu-Ketu Sarpadosha Nivarana Puja', which cost ₹500, following backlash from devotees.After the Lord Venkateswara Swamy temple at Tirumala, the Lord Shiva temple at Srikalahasti is the second busiest temple in Tirupati district, and attracts a huge turnout of devotees from across the globe round the year. The Rahu-Ketu pujas performed at the temple are renowned. Thousands of devotees visit the temple and perform this ritual to mitigate the kaal sarp dosha — an astrological condition where all seven planets are positioned between the shadow planets of Rahu and Ketu, causing significant life struggles, financial problems, relationship issues, and health concerns. The pujas are performed from 6 am to 6 pm daily, with costs starting from ₹500 and going up to ₹5,000. While the annual budget of Srikalahasti temple is around ₹150 crore, a major source of the revenue comes from the sale of Rahu-Ketu puja tickets, with close to 10 lakh devotees performing this puja on an average annually. However, several decisions taken by the Srikalahasteeswara Swamy Devasthanam during its recent trust board meeting, which also reviewed the prevailing puja systems in place at the temple, drew criticism from various quarters.Besides deciding to increase the cost of Rahu-Ketu puja to the ₹750 from ₹500, the temple trust board resolved to introduce a ‘Samoohika Rahu-Ketu Puja' puja wherein devotees can take part in the ritual, but can not use the silver replica of serpent gods. The temple body also decided to hike the price of VIP category Rahu-Ketu puja from ₹5,000 to ₹6,000. The decisions drew severe criticism from devotees. Even the BJP, which is part of the NDA coalition, opposed the decisions.The mounting criticism seems to have forced the Srikalahasti Devasthanam to revoke its orders and not increase the price of its Rahu-Ketu puja. Srikalahasti temple executive officer B K Venkatesulu said the trust board reviewed its decision and considering the sentiments of devotees, it has been decided to continue with the prevailing system.