BENGALURU: The next time you plan to distribute prasadam through any temple trust or a private event to the public, you might have to get permission from the local authorities, failing which you will face stringent action. The guidelines post the tragic Suluvadi incident, in which 17 people died of food poisoning, pertained to temples under the Muzrai Department. However, the same rules will be extended to those temples that do not come under the department.
After a series of food poisoning cases, where devotees fell ill or died after consuming food or prasadam, the Muzrai Department is planning to make it mandatory for all organisers to seek prior permission before distributing prasadam.
Speaking to The New Indian Express, Muzrai minister P T Parameshwar Naik said they were aware of cases where devotees fell ill after consuming prasadam. “We will take a major decision in a day or two to prevent any such incidents in the future. Just like permission is taken to conduct rallies in public places, organisers of temple events will have to get permission from the officials concerned to prepare food or prasadam. They have to give an undertaking to the Tahsildhar or the Deputy Commissioner or any endowment department official,’’ he said.
In Karnataka, there are 34,559 temples under the Muzrai Department. Of these, 175 temples are Class A (annual revenue above `25 lakh), 163 are Class B (annual income between `5 lakh and `25 lakh) and 34,221 are Class C temples (annual income less than `5 lakh). However, there are a large number of temples run by private trusts across the state which do not come under the department.
As per the guidelines issued by the Muzrai Department in 2012, the emphasis is on using good quality raw material and water, and on keeping the place clean and hygienic, among other guidelines. After the Suluvadi incident, the department made it mandatory to install CCTV cameras in the kitchen where the
food is prepared.
Official sources said they were making it mandatory for health inspectors to visit these temples and check the prasadam before it is served. These guidelines were limited to temples that come under the Muzrai Department.Official sources from the department said they had no control over private temples. “It is a sensitive matter to control these temples as there are religious sentiments involved. We have no control over the people who make the prasadam or the organisers. In order to make them accountable, we have to change the act or bring in a comprehensive law,’’ said an official.
DEADLY FOR DEVOTEES
December 2018
At Kicchugatti Maramma temple, more than 100 people fell ill and 17 died after eating the prasadam at Suluvadi village in Chamarajanagar
January 2019
Two people died after consuming the prasadam served at Sri Gangabhavani temple in Chintamani of Chikkaballapura district. Eleven others were hospitalised
April 2019
More than 100 were admitted to a hospital after consuming prasadam served in a temple at Chinnappanahalli in Sira taluk of Tumakuru district
18 children fall sick after consuming temple food
Tumakuru: As many as 18 children fell ill after consuming food at Anjaneya Swami temple at Chinnappanahalli village in Sira taluk on Sunday. While three of them were shifted to the district general hospital on Monday, the rest were discharged. District surgeon Dr T A Veerabhadraiah informed TNIE that all of them were out of danger. “Since they responded to the antibiotics, we suspect it was a bacterial infection. But the food samples are being sent to the laboratory,” he clarified. Former minister and Sira MLA B Sathyanarayana suggested that the administration concerned should check the food being distributed at temples as a precaution. In fact, a family of one Mariyanna had arranged the food. Senior BJP leader and former minister Sogadu Shivanna also visited the hospital.