Shettar government turns to rain god

Its pooja time

Faced with one of the worst monsoons in decades, the new Jagadish Shettar government has turned to the “rain god” to come to the State’s rescue. The government has directed 34,226 Muzrai temples in the state to perform special poojas on July 27 and August 2.

The efforts to appease Lord Varuna, considered the “rain god,”  will require Rs 17.11 crore in all as each temple may have to spend up to Rs 5,000 for the special pooja. A circular of the revenue department (muzrai) on Thursday has asked temples to perform the pooja using their funds to invoke the rain god through “Varunamantra Poorvakavagi Jalabhisheka pooja”  besides “homa” and “parjanya japa”.

The special poojas early in the morning should be held in major temples like Kollur Mookambika, Kukke Subramanya, Kateel Durgaparameshwari and Srikantaswamy temple. The expenses should not exceed Rs 5,000 and should be borne by the temples, the circular stated.

The government is not releasing any special funds for the rituals. According to department officials, 123 temples have been graded as Group A temples (those earning a revenue of over Rs 25 lakh); 179 temples as Group B temples (those earning a revenue of Rs 5 lakh up to Rs 25 lakh); and 33,924 temples as Group C temples (those earning a revenue of less than Rs 5 lakh). All these temples will have to perform the special pooja.

The State, which is facing severe drought, has submitted several memoranda to the Centre seeking funds to tackle the drought.  Opposition parties, during the ongoing legislature session have alleged that there is severe shortage of drinking water and fodder across the state.

This is not the first time the muzrai department has ordered special prayers for rain. In 2001, the then S M Krishna government had instructed the department to hold special poojas in the face of a severe drought that year. In 2009, the Yeddyurappa government too had ordered special poojas in temples to invoke rain gods.