New Pandharpur temple officer asks for service, not felicitation

Srikant Yadav, who was a room officer (desk officer) in the state secretariat, has recently taken charge as executive officer of the Shri Vitthal-Rukmini Mandir Committee, Pandharpur. On taking charge, instead of spending time on formal felicitation, he directly began reviewing the temple committee's administrative work. This made clear that he wants to run a transparent and disciplined administration centred on devotees.

The government has appointed Yadav, an officer of the secretariat, to the post of executive officer of the temple committee on deputation. Yadav has earlier served as a room officer in various departments of the secretariat and originally belongs to Vairag village in Barshi taluka. Before him, deputy collector Rajendra Shelke held the post on deputation. Shelke's tenure ended after his three-year deputation period was completed, following which the government handed the responsibility to Yadav.

In the temple committee's structure, executive officer, manager and accounts officer are the three government-level posts. As soon as Yadav took charge, office-bearers, officers, staff of the temple committee and well-known people from various fields began arriving to meet and welcome him. Many were bringing garlands, bouquets and felicitation items for him.

But Yadav made an appeal, saying "service is more important than felicitation." He said that instead of bringing garlands and bouquets for the welcome, people should donate to the Shri Vitthal-Rukmini Mandir Committee's free kitchen (annachhatra) or cowshed (goshala). He said that if the money spent on garlands and flowers were instead given to the free kitchen or the cowshed, it would directly benefit devotees, warkaris and cows.

After taking charge, Yadav has given priority to the temple committee's day-to-day administrative work rather than formal welcome ceremonies. He has begun reviewing the temple committee's various departments, gathering information on their functioning, pending matters, available facilities and the difficulties the administration faces.

Large numbers of devotees visit the Vitthal-Rukmini temple in Pandharpur every day. This is why providing better facilities to devotees, making the temple committee's administration faster and more transparent, and bringing discipline to its functioning appear, from Yadav's initial working style, to be his priorities. His emphasis on service over garland-and-flower felicitation has become a talking point within the temple premises.