Temple hundis opened after 16 years

The Prasanna Veeranjaneya Swamy Seva Samiti Temple Trust in Mahalakshmi Layout in the City, opened the temple hundis after a gap of 16 years.

Following the High Court order, the temple authorities opened two of the seven hundis on Saturday morning in the presence of Court Commissioner and senior counsel Jayakumar S Patil, administration officers of the temple trust and Muzrai department officials.

The two new hundis, installed three months ago, yielded more than Rs 10.36 lakh. The money will be deposited in a bank as per the Court direction. According to the authorities, only two hundis were opened as banks functioned for half-a-day on Saturdays.

A source said that the rest of the hundis will be opened after directions from the court.

The temple, spread over 13 acres, near the West of Chord Road, is known for its 22-foot-tall monolithic statue of Lord Hanuman. On April 14, 2012, the government took over the temple property with officials from Religious Endowment Department declaring it as a government property. This was an offshoot of a tussle between the trust members and the local people over the construction of a commercial structure in front of the temple. The locals objected to it stating that it would obstruct the view of the idol from the road.

The Trust challenged the takeover in the Court. The members filed an application seeking to open the hundis. The petitioners submitted that the hundis were full and had not been opened from the past 16 years.