Temple digitisation, VIP entry spark complaints from devotees

Mysuru: A push for complete digitisation by Sri Chamundeshwari Temple Development Authority has turned into a nightmare for thousands of rural and not tech-savvy devotees. Besides, an increase in seva rates, deteriorating infrastructure, and frequent VIP queue-jumping attracts devotees’ criticism.

The temple's official website, designed to book premium sevas like 'Saree Draping' and 'Chandika Homa,’ is not user-friendly. Devotees complain that the website's calendar displays available dates in green, but it provides no option to proceed with the booking or to make a payment. Aggravating the issue, official helpline numbers remain continuously unreachable.

Mandating online-only bookings for specific sevas has severely detached the rural masses. Priyanka Nagaraj, a devotee, stated that while QR-code menus might work in hotels for the elite, religion cannot be made exclusive to them.

“The temple is open for anyone and everyone, irrespective of their educational qualification or social status. By forcing digital-only bookings for offerings like sarees draping, removing offline alternatives, the authorities are violating a digitally-challenged person's ‘fundamental right to religion’,” Priyanka said.

Secretive tariff hike

Adding to the devotees' financial burden, the Authority has stopped the Rs 220 Abhisheka e-seva portal since the Ashada month began, on June 27, 2025. Only the Rs 550 'Ekadashavara Rudrabhisheka' option is open.

Research scholar K Vivek Gowda said that this one-sided decision was implemented without any prior public notification. “Despite collecting huge sums through Rs 30 and Rs 100 tickets, basic infrastructure is neglected. The floor tiles in the Rs 30 queue area, behind the shrine, are completely damaged, inconveniencing the devotees,” he said.

VIP route

While commoners purchase tickets and wait in queues for three to four hours, influential individuals bypass the queue effortlessly. “Politicians' aides, families of officials, and those willing to bribe security guards or police constables are granted direct, free entry,” Vivek Gowda said.

Surprisingly, there are often more people waiting near the temple's exit gate than at the ticket counters. A simple phone call, invoking the name of a traffic policeman or an authority official, ensures that the elite slip in directly, through the exit route, he said.

The VIP culture extends to vehicle parking also. Security guards readily allow vehicles of their acquaintances to the parking lots. “Even if a commoner says that their friend's leg is hurt and offers to pay the parking fee, they are refused entry,” Gowda said.

Devotees urge the government to restore the Rs 220 Abhisheka booking option, to repair the website, to provide offline booking alternatives, and to address complaints of VIP entry.

Vendor extortion

Devotees visiting Chamundi Hill have also raised concern about overcharging by vendors, particularly affecting tourists from other states and abroad.

Visitors said, toys, dolls, deity sarees, and puja items are often sold at four to five times their market price, near the temple.

Many point out that the vendors have occupied footpaths on both sides of the roads, on the hill, leaving little space for pedestrians. Devotees say that the lack of walking space makes their journey difficult, especially for elderly persons and families with children.