VIJAYAWADA: In yet another controversy surrounding the famous Goddess Kanaka Durga temple atop Indrakeeladri, a silk saree, worth Rs 18,000, offered by a devotee to Goddess Kanaka Durga was found ‘missing’ on Sunday.
According to temple officials, for the last few days devotees from various districts have been thronging the hill shrine in a large number to offer traditional ‘Saree’ to the Goddess marking the auspicious month of ‘Ashadam’.
On Sunday, Padmaja, a devotee from Undavalli, had made special offerings, including the silk saree, to the Goddess. The priests enrobed the processional idol of the Goddess in the new saree for a while and later kept it aside, which was found missing.
When Padmaja inquired with the priests about the ‘missing’ saree, they informed her that a trust board member had taken it away to get it registered with the offering counter.
However, it was found that the saree was not registered with the counter after which the devotee raised a hue and cry.
As police and temple officials swung into action, the trust board member reportedly returned to the temple and refuted the allegation that she had taken away the saree. She feigned ignorance about the missing saree.
‘’How can the priests hand over the sarees offered by devotees to unknown persons. I earlier offered a saree to the Goddess, but didn’t face this kind of situation?’’ Padmaja said. One Town police examined the CCTV footage on the sixth floor of Mallikharjuna Maha Mandapam. No case was registered till the last reports came in. Temple Executive Officer M Padma was not available for her reaction.
After coming to know about the incident, several devotees expressed their displeasure over the temple authorities for not taking proper care of the offerings made to the presiding deity.
They were of the view that the devasthanam should adopt the practise of registering the sarees offered by the devotees regularly for transparency.