Shivamogga
Hassan district administration has made arrangements for Hasanamba Jatra Mahotsava, beginning on November 2. The doors of the historic Hasanamba Temple are opened only during the festival.
Except for the inaugural and the last day (November 15), the devotees are allowed to have darshana of the deity 24 hours a day.
The elected representatives and officers of the administration have appealed to the public for their cooperation for the smooth conduct of the festival. Addressing the media after a meeting with officers on Wednesday, Hassan MLA Swaroop Prakash said this time the temple would be open for 24 hours a day. “We are expecting a good number of devotees from different parts of the State. Hence, we are making proper arrangements so that devotees have darshana of the deity without standing in the queue for long,” he said.
J.B. Maruthi, Assistant Commissioner of Hassan sub-division and administrative officer of the temple, said that the temple would be opened at 12 p.m. on November 2. The devotees would not be allowed to enter the temple on that day. Adichunchanagiri Mutt seer Nirmalanandanath Swamy will take part in the ceremony to mark the inauguration of the festival. “We are expecting around 10 lakh devotees for the temple this year,” he said.
Special passes:
The administration would make proper arrangements for providing drinking water and buttermilk to devotees standing in the queue. A separate arrangement would be made for the senior citizens visiting the temple.
There will be special queues for those who get special passes worth ₹1,000 and ₹300. The passes would carry a QR code. “The passes would be scanned at the entry point. This is to avoid the reuse of passes,” he said.
Deputy Commissioner C. Sathyabhama said the district administration had decided to use ₹3.5 crore for the proper arrangements for the festival. “We are using funds contributed by the devotees for the arrangements. At present, the temple account has ₹8.5 crore. We will not allow misuse of funds,” she said.
Superintendent of Police Mohammed Sujeetha said the police would be deployed for the smooth conduct of the festival. “The police and officials of the Revenue Department will coordinate with each other for the event. The department will install CCTV cameras on the temple premises”, she said.
Additional DC K.T. Shanthala and other officers were present.
