Pashupatinath: Indian priests end one-month strike over allowances

Kathmandu: Indian priests in Nepal today ended their month-long protest after the government agreed to provide 17 percent allowance from the income generated by special worshipping at the famous Pashupatinath temple here. [caption id=“attachment_363069” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image Reuters[/caption] A decision on this regard was taken during the talks with Prime minister, Sushil Koirala at his residence in Baluwatar. He was positive towards the demands of Indian priests and also assured them to provide with 17 percent allowances from the temple’s special offerings, an official source said. Special worshipping in the Pashupatinath temple was cancelled for more than a month due to the agitation launched by the Indian priests. They were demanding 25 percent share from the money deposited to the Pashupati’s account from special worshipping, a source at Pashupati Area Development Trust said. The priests agreed to the talks and has agreed on 17 percent commission from the Pashupati Area Development Trust, officials said. The Pashupatinath temple has one chief priest and four other priests. The chief priest is entitled to get Rs 150,000 and other priests Rs 125,000 as monthly salary from the Trust besides the allowances. However the temple was suffering a huge loss for a month after the special offerings was cancelled due to the protest. It is a centuries-old practice to appoint Indian nationals as priests at the fifth-century Pashupatinath Temple.