JOIN USThe controversial Adda Pallakki Utsava, involving the procession of Rambhapuri seer Veerasomeshwara Shivacharya in a pallakki (palanquin), passed off peacefully at Jewargi about 40 km from here on Monday. The programme remained incident-free, despite opposition from a section of Lingayat mutts and others.
Amidst unprecedented police bandobust and strict vigil on the movements of the organisers by 20 special executive magistrates, the Adda Pallakki was carried by eight persons in a procession from the Ishtalinga puja mantapa to Manava Dharma mantapa via Sindhagi Cross, covering a distance of more than 500 metres, although the administration had restricted the movement of the pallakki for only 200 metres.
The seer was offered a silver crown by the festival committee and the devotees. The event was attended among others by the seer of the Kedara Mutt and a large number of religious heads from different parts of the State.
The procession started at 3.10 pm and the concluded at 5 pm, one hour ahead of schedule fixed by the administration. The procession marked the conclusion of the 10-day-long Sharannavaratri festival, including Dasara durbar.
Earlier in the day, the Rambhapuri seer himself carried the kumbha (holy pot) in a procession for the Ishtalinga puja ceremony.
The procession started from the Mahalakshmi Temple at 8.30 am and reached the puja mantapa at 10.30 am.
Elaborate security arrangements have been made in Jewargi with the deployment of 1,200 police personnel. Both the groups have been strictly warned against making provocative speeches.
Protest in G’barga
Progressive elements under the banner of Paragatipara Chintana Vedike had organised a protest against the utsava in Gulbarga. The protest, involving the mock funeral procession of the ‘Pancha Peethadhishas,’ was foiled by the police, by closing both the gates of the Kannada Bhavan from where they were to start the procession. Police arrested about 30 persons, including R K Hudgi, Neela K, Meenakshi Bali and Zilla Panchayat member Shobha Bani.
Some of the seers under the leadership of Sulaphala Mutt seer Mahanta Shivacharya, who had launched an hunger strike against the Adda Pallakki utsava at the deputy commissioner’s office on Sunday, continued it on Monday also.