Jeans-clad women barred from Kodagu temples
Next time you visit Bhagamandala or Talacauvery temples, make sure you are clad in traditional or decent attire.
The members of the Talacauvery-Bhagandeeshwara Temple Management Committee along with local residents have decided to impose a dress code on tourists and devotees, especially women.
The decision was taken during the committee meeting at Bhagamandala on Thursday. The meeting, presided over the Legislative Assembly Speaker K G Bopaiah, was attended by local residents.
It was decided that antics of tourists needed to be curbed as Bhagamandala and Talacauvery were places of worship and not picnic spots. The members urged that the dress code prevalent elsewhere in the Hindu pilgrim centres should be enforced at the twin places to preserve the sanctity.
It was decided that devotees, especially women wearing jeans, T-shirts, sleeveless, skirts and other revealing dresses would be stopped at the entrance of the temples. Women clad in saree, chudidar, salwar kameez will be allowed inside.
A notice board will be installed in front of the temples giving details about the dress code. Hundreds of tourists who visit Talacauvery, illegally sneak into the peak of Brahmagiri Hill in the vicinity.
Garbage, especially liquor and beer bottles and plastic covers have been strewn on the peak spoiling the pristine and eco-sensitive region, said Kodava Sahitya Academy president Addanda Cariappa. “We can’t depend on police to curb the infiltration. A Security Force must be established by the temple committee,” he added.
It is not reasonable to leave every thing to the police. Local residents usually have rifles with them. The infiltration can be greatly controlled even if youth go on rounds with rifles near the temple, Bopaiah said.
The Hundi (donation box) stolen last year from the Talacauvery Temple is yet to be recovered. The security near the temple needs to be further beefed up, said committee member G Rajendra.
