No connectivity: Substantial drop in devotee numbers at religious places

Team Udayavani, Aug 22, 2018, 11:21 AM IST

• Kukke Kshetra wears a deserted look
• ‘Siyalabhisheka’

Belthangady/Subhramanya/Kollur: Due to the torrential rains, most of the roads connecting with Karavali district via the Ghats have become inaccessible and consequently leading to a substantial decrease in the number of devotees visiting religious institutions in Karavali.

Temples like Dharmasthala, Subhramanya, Kollur and others, which are flooded with devotees, are presently deserted. Since the number of devotees is sparse, it is easy to get access to the deities. Og the visiting few devotees, localities happen to be the majority.

Sampaje Ghat which connects Mysuru-Madikeri has been lost to multiple landslides and vehicular passage on the newly reopened Shiradi Ghat has also been banned. Currently, all vehicles trying to reach or leave Karavali have to solely depend on Charmadi Ghat. Hence, travelers are apprehensive to travel towards Karavali due to the fears of landslides, traffic jam and long winding way.

Substantial decrease

According to source from Dharmasthala Kshetra, normally there is a total inflow of 8-9,000 devotees daily and the number of devotees crosses 15,000 on Monday’s and other special days. But currently, only 1,000 to 1,500 devotees visit the temple daily and on Monday, the number devotees went up to a mere 5,000.

Due to the massive floods covering Kerala state, the number of devotees from the state visiting the Kollur Shri Mookambika temple has also fallen considerably, informs Harish Kumar Shetty, temple logistics committee president.

Kukke Kshetra wears a deserted look

Kukke Kshetra, which normally is inundated with devotees, currently wears a deserted look. On Tuesday, there were only 47 ‘Sarpasamskara’, 2 ‘Tulabhara’, 98 ‘Ashlesha Bali’, 15 ‘Naga Pratishthe’, 11 ‘Mahapooje’, 21 ‘Panchamrutabhisheka’, 53 ‘Kartikeya’ and 79 ‘Sheshaseve’ were conducted. Only Rs. 15,000 has been collected for ‘Annadana Seve’. In comparison to normal days, the number of ‘Seva’s’ has fallen by almost 80%.

‘Siyalabhisheka’

108 ‘Siyalabhisheka’ seva’s were conducted at Kukke Subhramanya temple, praying for the reduction in the rains and for achieving peace and happiness.