‘No pongala should be offered on granite near Padmanabhaswamy temple entrances’

Offering pongala on granite laid on roads leading up to all entrances to Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple has been banned.

Granite has been laid on the roads leading up to all entrances to Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple as part of the Swadesh Darshan project of the Union and the State governments. The superior quality granite that had been laid in the traditional style need to be preserved carefully. However, preparing temporary pongala hearths on the newly laid granite could blacken the stone, lead to their breaking owing to the heat from the fire in the hearths, damage the underground utility cables and security equipment, and lead to a fire outbreak.

In such a situation, no pongala should be offered on granite stones laid on the temple premises as part of the Swadesh Darshan project, a statement from the temple executive officer said, calling for cooperation from devotees.