Landslide-hit Kukke’s loss is Ghati’s gain

With access cut off for almost three months due to frequent landslides in 2018, prominent temples of Karnataka saw their annual revenues drop. Interestingly, this benefited other temples in the state.

For example, the closure of Shiradi, Charmadi and Sampaje ghats in the Western Ghats for about two-and-half months during the 2018 monsoon prevented thousands of devotees from visiting one of the state’s richest temples — Kukke Subramanya at Sullia. Its income had reduced by Rs 3.83 crore last year. But devotees woudn’t let that deprive them of blessings of their favourite God, Lord Subrahmanya. They found an alternative.

For years now, the Ghati Subrahmanyaswamy temple at Doddaballapur has been the go-to place for devotees after Kukke Subrahmanya and has seen a surge in its income by Rs 65 lakh this year.

The Mookambika temple at Kollur, which closely follows Kukke Subrahmanya in revenues, saw a slump in its income by Rs 2.13 crore in the last one year.

“The floods in Kerala that caused massive landslides led to the destruction of roads and cut off access to the temples. Since the temple is popular among Keralites, there has been a drop in the number of devotees,” said Mookambika temple authorities.

And thanks to better access, some temples have seen their reveues rise.

The Banashankari temple in Bengaluru saw an increase in income by Rs 65 lakh this year.

“After the Metro access, the footfall has increased here since devotees reach the temple from any part of the city in less that 30 minutes,” said an official at the temple. He added, “Besides, the temple serves food to over 2,000 people daily.”