Bangalore: After Laddus and Ganga Jal, Special Pilgrim Tour Packages
From Our Special Correspondent
BANGALORE, MAY 26: AFTER takng Laddus from Tirupathi temple all the way for distribution among the AKKA delegates in the US last year and getting Ganga Jal from Hrishikesh by train for the devotees on Mahashivaratri early this year, Karnataka’s Muzrai and Housing Minister S N Krishnaiah Setty has chalked up plans to offer a special subsidised pilgrim tour package to prominent temples in the state for the benefit of the poor.
Though details of the special pilgrim package are yet to be worked out, the minister said devotees from Below Poverty Line (BPL) families to visit temples at Kukke Subramanya, Kollur Mookambika, Dharmasthala, Udupi Sri Krishna, Sringeri, Savadatti, Malai Mahadeshwara Hills and other prominent places, including Bull Temple in Bangalore, would be arranged to mark the completion of chief minister B S Yeddyurappa’s one-year BJP rule in the state.
"The package to be finalised in a week after consulting the chief minister is estimated to cost Rs 10 crore,’’ the minister said explaining that the families of pilgrims would be offered subsidised bus fares and accommodation facilities.
It may be recalled that Setty, who is indebted to Yeddyurappa for inducting him into his cabinet in preference to several senior BJP leaders, had issued a controversial circular in June last year directing all the 13,000 plus muzrai temples in the state to peform special poojas in the name of the chief minister. The controversial circular was withdrawn on the directions of Yeddyurappa following a huge and cry by the opposition parties. He had taken the initiative to bring over 2 lakh litres of ``Holy’’ water from river Ganges in special tankers for distribution as ``prasadam’’ during the Shivaratri festival.
He also announced a Rs 180 crore master plan for the renovation of Kukke Subramanya temple located in Subramanya and indicated that the work would commence shortly. The temple, located on the bank of river Kumaradhara, is one of the famous pilgrimage sites in the State. In the first phase, Rs. 60 crore would be spent for renovation of the temple, construction of guesthouse, commercial complex, booking counter, bus-stand and other facilities and the entire work would be completed in a year, he said.
The minister said plans for construction of a 500-room guesthouse and 25 cottages for VIPs at Tirumala in Tirupathi, for providing accommodation for pilgrims visiting the Lord Venkateshwara temple from Karnataka had also been approved.
In addition, he said the government would renovate all the 13,000 muzrai temples, which were in dilapidated condition, at a cost of Rs. 900 crore. In the first phase, 15 temples would be renovated at Rs. 100 crore. Temples located at Kollur (Rs. 7.28 crore), MM Hills (Rs. 1.70 crore), Kateel in Dakshina Kannada (Rs. 4.29 crore), Basavanagudi of Bangalore (Rs. 3.20 lakh), Anjaneya Temple at Basavanagudi in Bangalore would be renovated.
Asked about response from non-resident Indians and philanthropists, he said not many NRI devotees have come forward to donate funds for renovation works of temples in the State. So far, only Rs. 1 crore had been collected. The Department has kept fixed deposits of Rs. 300 crore in a bank, which could be utilised for temple renovation works.
Answering questions from reporters on the recent incident of videographing by a policeman during his visit to a temple in the city, Setty termed the entire episode as an ``accident’’ and not a ``deliberate attempt of surveillance’’ at the instance of the chief minister as alleged by the opposition parties.
He pointed out that both the chief minister as well as the city police commissioner Shankar Bidari had categorically refuted the allegations of surveillance."No minister is under intelligence surveillance. An incident of taking videograph of Housing Minister should not be given that importance’’ he said.
In response to a specific question on the reported moves to drop him from the ministry following allegations levelled against him by BJP’s Kolar candidate D S Veeraiah that he had not worked for his success and was responsible for the defeat, Setty denied the charge. However, he said: ``Whether I continue as a minister or not is in chief minister’s hands. Everything will happen as per my destiny.’’