Activists protest lack of amenities at Chamundi Hills

Activists of the Karnataka Sena Pade (KSP) staged a demonstration in the city on Tuesday against the alleged failure of the authorities to make proper arrangements for devotees visiting the Chamundeshwari temple on the Chamundi Hills last Friday.

The temple is visited by lakhs of devotees on every Friday of the Ashada month, and the district administration should make arrangements for devotees for a hassle-fee darshan.

But there were criticisms that the authorities failed to anticipate the turnout, and the arrangements were found to be lacking. Devotees spent hours standing in queue without water and had a tough time to gain entry into the temple.

The protesters questioned the district administration and the State government on the issue and alleged that they were focusing more on ‘paid darshan’, for which there was a separate queue and the entry fee for a devotee was ₹2,000.

They described the paid darshan concept as a ‘loot’. The protest was led by KSP district president Tejesh Lokesh Gowda.