Two factions in Sulwadi village fought to take control over Maramma Temple

Mysuru: The tragedy at Maramma Temple at Sulwadi village in Hanur could have been worse but minimised as there was a shortage of prasadam.

Villagers said that there was a huge rush at the temple and due to this, prasadam that was already prepared fell short. After the initial rush for prasadam, devotees were turned away as the vessels were empty.

Soon after the prasadam was served, devotes started collapsing one after the other, complaining of stomach pain and dizziness. Some experienced breathlessness. Realising something was amiss, the devotees were told not to consume the prasadam as it was smelly. But some of the devotees had already consumed the prasadam.  

One of the three cooks, who prepared prasadam was a local resident Puttaswamy. His 12-year-old daughter Nalini was among those who died after eating the poisoned prasadam. Puttaswamy said that he had tasted the food before it was served and observed that there was a strange smell in the tomato bath.

Some devotees had raised doubts about the quality of food and informed the Temple Management Committee members about the foul smell. But they were told it was because of the masala items used.

A majority of the victims were women and children from Bidarahalli, Marthahalli, Vaddaradoddi, M.G. Doddi and Sulwadi villages.

They worked in local granite quarries as daily wagers. The temple is also frequented by devotees from neighbouring Tamil Nadu. The number of devotees was more yesterday as there was a ‘guddali puja’ to the Temple Gopura. The Maramma Temple is famous among the devotees and locals as they believed that their problems will vanish if they offer puja there. Located around 125km from Mysuru, pujas are conducted daily and special pujas are conducted on Fridays and Mondays.

Shantharaju, a resident of Bidarahalli village, had married Shivagami 12 years ago and as they did not have kids all these years, they had vowed to visit the Temple if they finally have one.

Yesterday he arrived at the temple with his two-month-old baby. As the infant was crying, his wife was not able to take the prasadam. Shantharaju ate it and within a few minutes, he collapsed in front of the temple and died.

According to locals, the land on which the temple is built is under dispute. The Temple Management is also divided over various proposed developmental activities. The village was divided over Temple Management as two factions were fighting to take control of the Temple.

According to locals, a unique feature of this Temple is that devotees are allowed to offer both vegetarian and non-vegetarian food to the deity.

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