Decision on Udupi Krishna temple only after talks: CM

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said on Saturday that the government would have a detailed discussion on the issue of bringing the Krishna temple in Udupi under the government’s purview. But, as of now, no decision on the status of the temple had been taken, he said.

Replying to questions by reporters, he said, “I had said that during Yeddyurappa’s tenure, the Krishna temple was removed from the purview of the Muzrai department and handed over to the Udupi Mutt. We are going to have a detailed discussion on the matter. But, as of now, no decision has been taken,” he said.

On the Cauvery issue, the chief minister said the State had not yet received any communication from the Supreme Court with regard to the Rs 2,500-crore damages being demanded by Tamil Nadu and that it would react once it received the communication.

When his attention was drawn to the ban on gutka and pan masala, the chief minister said the ban would not have any impact on the areca growers in the State.

“I admit there may be a drop in prices of arecanuts, but they will stabilise in a few months,” he said. The chief minister said that the government’s decision was not ad-hoc and it was a directive from the Supreme Court which needed to be implemented.

“Former chief minister Sadananda Gowda wrote a letter to me, seeking a revocation of the ban on gutka. But we cannot do anything about it as it is a court direction,” he said.