Mangaluru : The endowment department across Karnataka will formulate a dress code for devotees in all temples which comes under it.

The Karnataka Rajya Dharmika Parishat (a quasi-judicial body formed by the government under the Karnataka Hindu Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowments Amended Act 2011) decided to make dress code compulsory to preserve the sanctity inside temple premises and to avoid distractions in devotees’ minds.

As per the new dress code, devotees will not be allowed to enter temples wearing jeans, half-pants, shorts and T-shirts. Women devotees will have to wear sari or salwar kameez while panche or pants and shirt will be the dress code for men.

Parishat member Padmanabha Kotian told that, the Parishat will adopt a resolution in this regard at a meeting on October 3. He said the Parishat is empowered to resolve any dispute on religious practices, customs, usage and traditions.

“The Parishat mooted the idea to implement dress code in endowment temples in its previous meetings. The proposal is on the agenda for the Parishat’s next meeting on October 3. It will discuss the code in detail and adopt a resolution to implement it in all temples under department across the state. Thereafter, it will be a rule and circulars will be issued to deputy commissioners of all districts for implementation of dress code in all endowment temples,” Kotian said.

“It has become trendy for the young generation to visit temples wearing revealing clothes. This leads to distraction in devotees’ minds. Many temples in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh have their own dress code and they don’t allow devotees to enter shrines wearing revealing clothes,” he said.

Meanwhile, he said, staff in all A grade temples will have to wear uniforms. “Devotees find it difficult to identify the temple staff. Hence, uniforms will be mandatory for all staff. The management committees of all temples should take the initiative to implement it,” he said.

While the endowment department minister is the chairperson of the Parishat, it has seven other members. While there are more than 34,000 temples under the endowment department in the state, 160 are classified as A Grade temples with an annual income of more than Rs 25 lakh, he added.