Thousands of devotees visited Chamundi Hills here to offer puja at the Chamundershwari temple on the first Friday of the Ashada season.
The temple was thrown open for devotees, who had queued up since the early hours of Friday, around 5.30 a.m. after the temple priests, led by Shashishekar Dikshit, conducted special pujas. The idol of Goddess Chamundeshwari and the sanctum sanctorum were specially bedecked with a variety of flowers.
This year’s unique attraction was the beautification of the temple precincts with ‘thothapuri’ mangoes, which were hanging from the ceiling.
Over 30 buses of the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) ferried devotees to the temple from the makeshift bus-stand at the Lalitha Mahal helipad.
Private vehicles were barred on the hills to avoid congestion, and VIP vehicles were allowed only after clearances from the police.
Anna Dasoha (mass feeding) to devotees was arranged on the occasion. Volunteers of various organisations distributed ladoos and ‘prasadam’ to the devotees.
Pratap Simha, Mysore MP, and Ashwathnarayana, MLC, visited the temple and offered prayers.
Police Commissioner M.A. Saleem also visited the temple and inspected the arrangements. Assistant Commissioner of Police B.T. Kavitha supervised the arrangements.
