Massive expenditure planned to develop Anjanadri Hill

Koppal: Kishkindha Anjanadri Hills which is the centre of worship for millions of Hindu devotees is set to get facelift while the ownership dispute is still in the Dharwad High Court. The state government has prepared a blueprint to spend crores of rupees for the development of the area. A controversy has arisen where helpers have been appointed to collect the offerings given by the devotees. The state chief minister Basavaraja Bommai and union home minister Amit Shah would perform bhoomi pooja for various developmental works on March 14 next. Anegondi dynasties have created a trust for many decades to take care of the Anjanadri hill temple and conduct worship and religious activities. A few years after the death of the late Lakadadas Baba, who was a North Indian priest, the trust appointed Mahanta Vidyadasa Baba as a priest in Anjanadri.

Due to some rift between the Trust and Vidyadasa Baba, the Trust dismissed Baba from the priestly profession on the pretext of neglecting the royal family and Baba's behaviour in the temple area. Then Baba was brought down from the hill by the police. In the meantime, there was an atmosphere of unrest in Anjanadri and in the interest of the devotees, the Tahsildar and Rural Police reported that the temple should be taken over by the government.

On July 23, 2018, the then Deputy Commissioner P Sunil Kumar submitted a report to the government to take Anjanadri into the custody of the district administration. The state government handed over Anjanadri to the Mujarai and Religious Endowment Department and regularised the staff of 22 people working there.

Priest Mahanta Vidyadasa Baba filed a lawsuit in the Dharwad High Court regarding the seizure of the temple by the government and disruption of worship. The court granted an interim order allowing Vidyadasa Baba to perform the puja. Priest Vidyadasa Baba has already made efforts to collect the offerings of devotees and distribute theertha prasadam, but the Mujarai department staff have been objecting to this.

Governor Thavarachand Gelhot and Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai along with dignitaries visited Anjanadri and offered puja to Anjaneya at the foot of the hill, when Vidyadasa Baba said that he would do religious work himself, but the police arrested Baba. On Friday, when Baba invited his close friends to collect offerings and offer Tirtha Prasadam at the temple on the hill, there was an argument between the staff and Baba, and it reached the stage of filing a complaint to the police station.

For development work in Anjanadri, hundreds of acres of farmers' land was acquired and crores of rupees compensation also distributed . It is not known who will win the dispute in the court regarding the ownership of the temple. In the meantime, the government is hastily spending crores of rupees on infrastructure and pilgrim accommodation at the cost of Rs 120 crore and two-way road from Hitna to Sainagar at a cost of Rs 600 crore.

Anjanadri hill pooja rights and ownership dispute is in the Dharwad High Court before the court deliver verdict , the state government going to spend crores for developing hills. . However the government did not release a rupee for developing hill. The minor works in the temple done with the money given by the devotees, and if the government wants to develop Anjanadri permanently, the locals were demanding to wait until the court decision, before the dispute over the ownership of Anjanadri was decided, the government has decided to carry out the development work in haste and has taken the process of acquiring the land of the farmers. There are frequent clashes between priests, relatives and staff regarding the puja work. Anegondi royal familiy members have objected that Chief Minister Basavaraja Bommai and some central government ministers are using Anjanadri for election purposes and they are not concerned about the development of the hills.

Gangavathi MLA Paranna Munavalli said that Anjanadri hill belongs to the state government as already mentioned in the government order. The staff working here are recognized as government employees. Thousands of devotees are visiting daily and infrastructure plans have been made for them.

The government respects the religious matters of the people and provides them with all facilities. The Dharwad High Court allowed Mahanta Vidyadasa Baba to become a priest and the authorities have always enabled him to perform religious activities.

The temple staff will distribute the teertha prasadam. On March 14, chief minister Bommai will inaugurate infrastructure development works in Anjanadri he added.