Cleanliness is NOT next to Godliness at Gunja Narasimha Swamy Temple

T. Narasipur: Though the historically famous Gunja Narasimha Swamy Temple in the town was renovated spending crores of rupees to attract more tourists, the vicinity of the temple is regrettably stinking with practically no maintenance whatsoever.

The Temple Town, hailed as Dakshina Kashi with the confluence of rivers Cauvery, Kapila and undercurrent Spatika Sarovar (spring), is also famous for the Kumbh Mela held once in three years on the lines of the Maha Kumbh Mela held at Prayag, Uttar Pradesh. Lakhs of devotees visit the town for the mega event.

After an NRI devotee got the said temple renovated, the State Government too spent about Rs. 60 crore during the tenure of the then PWD Minister Dr. H.C. Mahadevappa about four years back, to get the vicinity of the temple cleaned, developed a beautiful park near the river bank, created a good parking lot and spruced up the bathing ghat and toilets.

Gross Negligence

Though the temple is renovated, the surroundings is very unclean with littering of leaves and containers by devotees after eating the prasadam served everyday. Adding to the misery, too many shops have cropped up near the temple, thus cleanliness is totally spoilt.

Vehicle Parking

In spite of a designated place for vehicle parking, the devotees park their vehicles haphazardly all around the temple as there is no one to man the parking lot.

Bathing Ghat

Though the bathing ghat was developed, the place looks like a Dhobi Ghat with civic authorities turning a blind eye to the mess created by the local people. Devotees going to the river for a holy dip have to bear the brunt of the unclean and unholy practice of washing clothes.

Useless Toilets

Despite the toilets been built during the renovation of the temple, they remain useless as the toilets are not inaugurated yet! The plight of women devotees is pathetic and unimaginable.

In short, crores of rupees spent on renovation of the temple has literally gone waste owing to the laxity of Muzrai Department and Temple Management with thousands of devotees at the receiving end.

Tahsildar Nagaprashanth says that he would hold a meeting of officials of Muzrai Department and Town Municipality to sort out the cleanliness problem. 

An approval has been obtained from the Deputy Commissioner to install Surveillance Cameras around the temple soon, he added. However, the devotees contend that officials of the Departments concerned and temple authorities have turned a blind eye to the vexing problems.