Chief Minister Siddaramaiah performed puja to the Cauvery by offering ‘bagina’ at the Krishnaraja Sagar reservoir (KRS) near Srirangapatna in the district on Thursday.
However, it was a low-key affair as the poll code of conduct is in force in the district due to the bypolls for the Mandya MP seat. The decades-old tradition of offering bagina to the Cauvery lost its festive grandeur this year.
Mr. Siddaramaiah’s wife Parvathy Siddaramaiah abstained from the rituals. The Chief Minister’s family members usually participate in the annual affair, in which, according to tradition, married women should offer bagina.
The entire programme lasted for just 45 minutes.
Full to the brim
The water-level in the KRS reached the brim on Thursday due to heavy downpour in the catchments of Cauvery in Kodagu and Mandya districts and also because of discharge of excessive water from Hemavathi dam in Gorur.
Mr. Siddaramaiah arrived at the reservoir site in a helicopter at 3.45 p.m. Cauvery Neeravari Nigam Ltd. (CNNL) and police officials welcomed him at the helipad near the reservoir.
Senior archak Bhanu Prakash Sharma of Srirangapatna, along with his team members, supervised the rituals of the puja.
Scanty rainfall
Mr. Siddaramaiah, told presspersons that he was delighted as most of the reservoirs in the State have attained full reservoir level this year.
He said he had prayed for rain in the taluks that have received inadequate rainfall. Brimming dams are a solution to several problems, including power generation.
Ministers M.H. Ambareesh, H.S. Mahadeva Prasad, M.B. Patil, MLAs M.K. Somashekar, D.C. Thammanna, P.M. Narendraswamy, K.S. Puttannaiah, A.B. Ramesh Babu Bandisiddegowda, K.C. Narayana Gowda and others accompanied the Chief Minister.
