Temple land encroachments: Minister gives stren warning to encroachers

Bengaluru: Strict action will be taken against land encroachment of temples in the state. Minister of Karnataka Hindu religious organisations and endowment, Haj and Waqf, Sasikala A Jolle said that the 15 acres and 12 guntas of encroachment land belonging to Sri Dharmarayaswamy Temple in Tigalarapet, Bengaluru will be discussed with the Chief Minister and an encroachment drive will be carried out soon.

After conducting inspection of the encroachment of 15 acres and 12 guntas of land in Survey No. 79 of Neelasandra village in Vivekanagar. The Minister Sasikala Jolle said, "There has been a lot of discussion about the encroachment of properties belonging to Sri Dharmarayaswamy Temple, one of the major temples in Bangalore city. Since 1965, there have been many court cases regarding this land. In all these cases the order has come in our favor. Even so, the government has not been able to take possession of the land belonging to the temple. Now the government has taken this case seriously. We inspected the encroached land along with Ravikumar, a member of the Legislative Council, and discussed with the Chief Minister that the encroachment would be cleared soon."

M Muniswamy has been fighting disputes over this land in various courts for the last several decades. About 7 times different courts have got orders that this land belongs to the temple. But an attempt is being made to drag this matter further by filing another lawsuit on it. All steps are being taken to bring a logical end to this case. He has written a letter to the Bangalore City District Collector and the Superintendent of Police on Saturday saying that steps will be taken to build a compound on the vacant land.

About 229 buildings have been constructed in the last 30 years. These buildings are provided with many facilities like electricity, water supply. He said that strict action will be taken against the authorities who have given facilities to the unauthorized buildings and allowed construction of the buildings.

Coordination of various departments like BBMP, BWSSB, Police, Revenue etc. is needed for clearance of land encroachment of Dharmaraya Swamy temple. A committee of Heads of Departments will be considered for coordination. The Minister Sasikala said that she will discuss this with the Chief Minister and take a decision in this regard.

To Request ban on use of mobile phones in temples

The Union of Akhila Karnataka Hindu Temple Archakars - Agamikars and Upadhivantas has appealed to the government to ban the use of mobile phones in temples under the jurisdiction of religious endowment department.

A delegation led by Union President KS Dixit who met Minister Sasikala Jolla at the Vidhan Sabha on Saturday stated that they were disturbed by obscene ring tunes during the rituals. Taking photos of girls while meditating has also been found.

In addition to taking photos of God, photos are being taken showing their back to the Garbha Gudi. If they use a mobile phone while performing Puja, Homa Havan, you lose concentration. Due to all these reasons, it has been demanded that the use of mobile phones should be banned in temples.