Nanjangud Temple earns more than Rs. 1 crore a month, yet there are no basic amenities

Nanjangud: Faith knows no bounds. Beyond offerings, the presidinwg deity at Srikanteshwara Swamy Temple in Nanjangud receives ‘request letters’ in its hundi, where devotees seek divine intervention for their problems.

One such letter, found in the hundi during an offering count, read: “Rich people can stay in lodges; what can a poor person like me do? If I sleep in front of the Temple, they’ll beat me with a stick or stomp on me with their boots. They’ll give me an address to go to a lodge. How can I go, being a poor person… Lord Srikanteshwara, you are the one to alleviate the suffering of your poor devotees.”

This heartfelt plea from a poor devotee was seeking better facilities at the Temple, a sacred place for the lakhs of devotees who visit every day of the week.

The letter, wrapped around a Rs. 100 currency note, was discovered during the donation count on Tuesday, held at the Temple’s Dasoha (free meal) Bhavan. Devotees believe their problems will be solved if they write to the deity.

This is not an isolated case. Devotees have repeatedly expressed concerns through such letters about accommodation and basic facilities at the Nanjangud Temple complex through numerous letters, highlighting flaws in the Temple’s management system.

During the monthly donation count, many such letters from devotees are received. This time, over 150 letters were found, with devotees from various parts of the State, including Bengaluru, Mandya and K.M. Doddi, writing letters and attaching Rs. 500, Rs. 100, and Rs. 50 notes to express their grievances to the deity. Many letters prayed for basic facilities.

Beyond individual requests

Devotees have requested that the money be used to improve facilities for other visitors to the Temple. Notably, most of these letters focus on basic amenities rather than personal demands, indicating that devotees are primarily concerned with fundamental issues rather than individual requests.

Despite the Temple’s monthly income exceeding Rs. 1 crore, there is no proper accommodation for visitors from distant places. Devotees who stay in the Temple premises or nearby are often mistreated, beaten with sticks, trampled with boots and forced to seek accommodation in lodges, which many cannot afford.

Additionally, women performing sacred rituals at the Kapila River bathing ghats lack facilities for changing clothes and there are no provisions for clean drinking water or proper sanitation services.

Devotees frustrated

Despite numerous appeals to officials and elected representatives, there has been no improvement. Frustrated devotees have detailed these problems in their letters, underscoring that the issue of accommodation is a serious concern.

On full moon days, weekly visits and special occasions, there is inadequate provision for the stay of devotees. Although a foundation stone was laid for the construction of a 75-room accommodation complex over a year and a half ago, the project has not yet been implemented.

The disorder and lack of basic amenities at the Temple have visibly frustrated the devotees. Despite the Temple’s substantial income, there seems to be no genuine effort to provide fundamental facilities, which is a major concern for them.

Last month’s earnings

When the currency notes, coins, gold, silver and foreign currencies accumulated in July 2024 were counted, the total collection amounted to Rs. 1,12,92,056. Additionally, 51 grams and 380 milligrams of gold, 1.8 kg of silver, and 40 foreign currency notes were deposited in the hundi.