KATHMANDU - A DISPUTE at a Hindu temple in Nepal that has required riot police to keep the peace is not about religion or tradition, but simply a matter of money, officials and pilgrims at the site have told AFP.

Last week, Nepal's Maoist government sparked angry protests when they announced they would throw out Indian priests who had officiated at the temple for generations and replace them with local holy men.

The officially atheist Maoists won elections last year and dismissed Nepal's Hindu monarchy, with Mr Prachanda, the Maoist leader and new prime minister, replacing the king as patron of Pashupati, the country's holiest Hindu temple.

Local priests and their supporters claim that the temple's trust - now controlled by the secular Maoists - decided to remove the Indian priests without consultation or proper legal permission.

But for Harihar Dhakal, who is in charge of cremation wood at the temple, the escalating row is really about who has access to the funds donated by huge crowds of pilgrims.

'It is all about money,' said Mr Dhakal, as his team of workers split logs for the 30 or so funeral pyres that burn daily at Pashupati.

'Some people are now dissatisfied because they won't be able to earn as much as they did in the past. The Maoists also know that the temple is an attractive source of cash.'

Dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva and situated on the banks of the Bagmati river in Kathmandu, Pashupati dates back to the third century BC and is revered by Hindus worldwide.

Around one million pilgrims visit annually, and their offerings generate large amounts of money - though no figure is available - as well as providing incomes for people who work at the temple.

Many devout Nepalese Hindus aim to spend their last days or hours at Pashupati and then be swiftly cremated, with their burning funeral pyres pushed in the river.

Subarna Baidya, an ayurvedic (holistic) doctor who works at Pashupati checking bodies before cremation, said that the changes were made without considering the temple's history.

'Those Indians were from a caste that had been conducting rituals for centuries, but they were not even consulted over the decision,' said Mr Baidya, 60.

'The new appointments make it clear that the Maoists have their own financial interests in the temple.' Parmananda Shakya, the Maoist-appointed head of the temple trust, has hinted that the removal of the southern Indian priests after centuries of service was over concerns about financial probity.

'We are trying to end the financial irregularities that take place inside the temple, that's why some people are not happy with our decisions and are protesting,' he told AFP.

The row has caused concern in neighbouring India, where L.K. Advani, the head of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), called the treatment of the Indian priests 'shabby and totally unprovoked.'

'A tradition going back three centuries... has been trampled upon in a most clumsy and undemocratic manner by the government of Nepal,' he said in a statement.

For Indian pilgrim Jagadish Prasad Gupta, the row has cast a shadow over his visit to the temple, a UN world heritage site which consists of ancient pagoda structures beside the holy - but filthy - Bagmati river.

'This temple is iconic for all Hindus and it's sad that such a holy place has been dragged into controversy,' said Mr Gupta, 65, a teacher from Rajasthan.

'In the past, Nepal was a good example of religious tolerance, but with these tensions, that's slowly vanishing.' -- AFP