Daily prayers at Chikkamagaluru village stopped following entry of SC youths

People of the privileged caste have stopped daily prayers at the Tirumala Temple at Narasipur village in Chikkamagaluru taluk for the last three days, allegedly taking exception to the entry of two Scheduled Caste youths into the temple.

People of the privileged caste have stopped daily prayers at the Tirumala Temple at Narasipur village in Chikkamagaluru taluk for the last three days, allegedly taking exception to the entry of two Scheduled Caste youths into the temple.

Following the incident, officers of the Chikkamagaluru district administration held a meeting with villagers on Thursday.

Kuruba community people, who dominate numerically in the village of 250 households, stopped daily prayers on Tuesday after Hemanth and Madhu who belong to the Scheduled Caste entered the temple. Since then, the priest and other devotees stopped visiting the temple, managed by the Muzrai Department.

The Muzrai Department had earlier sent boards to all temples with a message that the temple was open to all and practising untouchability was against the law.

However, the villagers had not displayed the board for several months. The youth, who were upset over the restriction on the entry of Dalits to the temple, wrote to the Chikkamagaluru tahsildar, requesting that the board be displayed and the temple should be opened to all.

Tahsildar Sumanth visited the temple on Tuesday (December 3), and ensured that Hemanth and Madhu visited the temple in his presence. However, the villagers refused to take back the keys of the temple and stopped the daily prayers since then.

Officers of the Muzrai Department and the Social Welfare Department visited the village on Thursday and held talks with the residents.