Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa will be visiting Sri Kshetra Malai Mahadeshwara Betta in Chamarajanagar district on Wednesday and Thursday to lay foundation stone for the ₹110-crore development works planned atop the hills.
This is the first visit of Mr. Yediyurappa to Chamarajanagar district in his current tenure as the Chief Minister.
Minister in charge of Chamarajanagar district S. Suresh Kumar recently met the Chief Minister in Bengaluru and invited him to M.M. Hills for giving a start to various development works. Mr. Yediyurappa is also the chairperson of Sri Kshetra Malai Mahadeshwara Temple Development Authority.
The Chief Minister will arrive at 5 p.m. on Wednesday and stay overnight after holding a meeting of the temple authority at Nagamalai Bhavan. On Thursday, at 10.30 a.m., he will first lay foundation stone for eight development works estimated to cost ₹13.84 crore and later nine works costing ₹110 crore.
Shivarathri Deshikendra Swami of Suttur Mutt and Pattada Guruswamy of Salur Mutt, M.M. Hills, will be present. Minister for Muzrai, Fisheries and Ports Kota Srinivasa Poojary, Mr. Suresh Kumar, V. Sreenivas Prasad, MP, R. Narendra, MLA, and others will attend.
To cater to the needs of devotees visiting the temple, a dormitory complex has been proposed at a cost of ₹4.86 crore. A sum of ₹4.27 crore would be spent on developing “Antharagange Kalyani”. In addition, a spacious dining hall has also been planned at a cost of ₹2.15 crore and 65 toilets at a cost of ₹1.23 crore.
A 416-room mega guesthouse has been planned at a cost of ₹45 crore besides a facility behind the temple for devotees to conveniently stand in queue for the temple darshan, at ₹24 crore. Besides devotees from across the State, pilgrims from neighbouring states, especially Tamil Nadu, visit the temple in large numbers.
Granite slabs would be laid on the steps leading to the hills from Talabetta at a cost of ₹22 crore besides the launch of a second stage of dormitory complex at a cost of ₹7.9 crore. The restoration of Doddakere at a cost of ₹4.8 crore and the construction of a road connecting the helipad and Dasoha Bhavan at a cost of ₹3 crore will also get the start.
In addition to various development works, the Chief Minister will also be laying the foundation stone for the laddu making unit at a cost of ₹90 lakh. Recently, the laddu and the prepared food (served to devotees as Dasoha meal) were certified under the FSSAI. The licence is renewable every year. The temple authorities had to meet all protocols for securing the certification under the Food Safety Act.
