Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa said on Monday that the State government will release ₹ 4 crore for building an anna chatra (dining facility) at Sri Venkataramana Temple in Karamballi in Udupi.
The chatra will be named after late V.S. Acharya, former Minister and a senior BJP leader.
Speaking at a function on the penultimate day of the nine-day Brahmakalashotsava rituals at the temple in Karamballi, he said that the funds will be released in a week.
Mr. Yediyurappa praised the temple authorities for serving food to about 95,000 persons, mainly labour, during the lockdown last year.
Udupi MLA K. Raghupati earlier requested the Chief Minister for grants to build the dining facility at the temple in the memory of late V.S. Acharya.
Earlier, addressing a gathering at the Rajangana in Udupi Sri Krishna Mutt/Temple after dedicating Vishwapatha, which is the new pathway for free darshan of Lord Krishna in the temple/mutt, the Chief Minister said that the ashta mutts (eight mutts) in Udupi have emerged as the centres of spirituality for people of all communities.
He said that Sri Vadiraja Swamy who introduced the biennial Paryaya system, which has entered its 500th year now, at Sri Krishna Mutt, had built the fragmented Hindu society.
He was instrumental in protecting the Hindu religion from damage caused by invaders. The Paryaya event has now emerged as a Nada Habba.
The ashta mutts have contributed immensely for the development of society, he said.
Udupi Pejawar Mutt seer Vishwa Prasanna Tirtha becoming the trustee of Sri Ram Janma Bhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust, constituted for building the Ram Mandir, denotes the importance given to the ashta mutts in Udupi, Mr. Yediyurappa said. He also hailed the contributions of Admar Mutt in promoting education in the country.
Legislative Assembly Speaker Vishveshwara Hegde Kageri and the Paryaya seer Eshapriya Tirtha of Admar Mutt also spoke.
The new pathway starts from the mutt’s north entrance near Rajangana. Devotees will cross the “Kattige Ratha” and the golden roof atop the sanctum sanctorum before coming down the steps to have their darshan at Navagraha Kindi.
Devotees then have to climb a flight of steps to go to the dining hall and then, exit from the temple.
Dedication of this new pathway is among the several programmes lined up as part of the 500th year of the biennial Paryaya system.