Mysuru: Braving early morning intermittent drizzle, thousands of devotees from the city, thronged the Chamundeshwari Temple atop Chamundi Hill to seek blessings of the deity on the auspicious last Ashada Friday today.

There was a serpentine queue at Lalitha Mahal helipad  much before the KSRTC started operating free buses to reach the hill top.

The rituals began as early as 3 am today with the performance of Mahanyasa Poorvaka Abhisheka, Pushparchane, Alankara and other pujas to Goddess Chamundeshwari, following which devotees were allowed inside the temple at 5.30 am. The mahamangalarathi was performed at 9.30 am.

The deity, the Sanctum Sanctorum and the temple were decorated with colourful flowers, giving an amazing look.

Prasadam was distributed at Dasoha Bhavan. Also some devotees who had made a vow, were seen distributing prasadam to the devotees at a few points. The authorities had allowed distribution of prasadam after checking it for consumption. Suttur Mutt had also arranged prasadam distribution.

MLAs S.A. Ramdas, Aravind Limbavali, H.D. Revanna and Anitha Kumaraswamy and a host of other politicians were among those who visited the temple.

The Police had made elaborate security arrangements to ensure the safety and security of devotees.

The Police were seen making repeated mike announcements asking the devotees to take care of their belongings and be wary of chain snatchers, pick-pocketers and other thieves.

The KSRTC will operate free bus service from Lalith Mahal Helipad to the Hill at 8 pm. The Hill Temple will be open for devotees till 10.30 pm.

Lucky escape for devotees as bus breaks down

Devotees travelling in a KSRTC bus had a lucky escape this morning as the bus broke down midway and began to move backwards. 

The bus had reached midway to the Hill, when it suddenly broke down due to a technical snag. But as the air-brake system of the bus too failed, the bus started moving backwards, when an alert driver Mahadevaswamy succeeded in bringing the bus to a complete halt by slowly running it into the protective wall along the road. The devotees travelling in this bus were sent in other buses in groups.