Minister in charge of Mysuru district H.C. Mahadevappa instructed officials to ensure smooth celebration of Ashada Fridays atop Chamundi Hills, scheduled to start this month.
A large number of devotees are expected to visit Chamundeshwari Temple atop Chamundi Hills during the four Ashada Fridays, starting from June 23, and Chamundeshwari Vardhanti festival on July 10. The last Ashada Friday is scheduled for July 14.
At a review meeting with district level officials at Government Guest House on Monday, June 12, Mr. Mahadevappa directed the officials to ensure that the devotees, visiting the hill shrine, are not facing any inconvenience.
He asked the officials to continue with all the measures except for the ones that were posing problems to the devotees.
During the meeting, Tanveer Sait, former Minister and Narasimharaja Assembly constituency MLA, referred to the confusion that had arisen on account of distribution of VIP passes during the Ashada Fridays last year.
Meanwhile, the chief priest of Chamundeshshwari Temple Shasishekar Dixit welcomed Mr. Sait’s suggestion on doing away with VIP passes and said a separate VIP line for darshan can be created instead.
He said that all the religious practices and traditions of the previous years will be followed this year too.
The meeting was attended by Harish Gowda, Chamaraja MLA; Srivatsa, Krishnaraja MLA; Deputy Commissioner K.V. Rajendra, City Police Commissioner Ramesh Banoth, Superintendent of Mysuru district police Seema Latkar and other officials of the district administration were also present on the occasion.
Concern
Meanwhile, Prof. N.S. Rangaraju, member of Mysuru district heritage committee, has expressed concern over the structural impact to the Chamundi Hills from movement of large number of vehicles and suggested a ban on private buses to the hill top.
He said the boulders on Chamundi Hills stood on loose soil. Fearing for the worst when it rains, Prof. Rangaraju said the authorities were still working on building a road that had been washed away in landslide following rains about a year ago.
Prof. Rangaraju, a retired professor of ancient history and archeology, University of Mysore, said he favoured operation of mini buses from foothills to the hilltop if the free travel for women by KSRTC buses poses a threat to Chamundi Hills.
He said he would shortly be writing to the government on the need to retain Chamundi Hills as a religious centre and not as a tourist destination.
