The State government has passed an order to bring the administration of the Marikamba temple in Sagar city under the Muzrai Department. At present, the temple is being administered by a committee of devotees.
D.M. Satish Kumar, Assistant Commissioner of Sagar sub-division, told The Hindu that, in the wake of the allegations of financial irregularities at the temple, the government has passed an order under Section 42 of the Karnataka Hindu Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowments Act, 1997.
It is alleged that the temple accounts have not been maintained properly for years. Acting on the complaints on financial irregularities, the State government had issued a notice to the previous managing committee seeking an explanation. The then Assistant Commissioner of Sagar had submitted a report to the government on the allegations. Besides this, the Muzrai Department had also conducted a probe into the matter. Following all this, on April 12, the government passed the order.
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The temple was established during the rule of the Keladi kingdom and the deity there was called ‘Dandinamaari’ earlier. According to sources, an amount of Rs. 1.5 crore is deposited with various banks in the name of temple. In addition to this, the temple owns 8.35 acres of land in Chandramaavinakoppalu, and two acres in Jambagaru locality in Sagar.Meanwhile, members of the Marikamba Devasthana Vyavasthapana Samithi, the current temple management committee, and a large number of devotees staged a protest in Sagar city on Monday opposing the move. Leaders of many parties, including th Congress, BJP and JD(S), took part in it.
Addressing the protestes, K.N. Nagendra, president of the administrative committee, said the government had taken a “unilateral decision” on the matter.