MADIKERI: There has been a considerable dip in the number of devotees visiting Talacauvery this year even after the Tula Sankramana festival. It is customary for devotees from across south India to visit the pilgrimage site to take a holy dip in the Cauvery between the Tula Maasa and Vrushaba Maasa (this time it falls between October 2018 and May 2019) after the Tula Sankramana. While increased security and extra facilities are in place at Bhagamandala and Talacauvery, the pilgrimage centres are seeing a considerable decrease in the number of devotees.
According to B S Thammaiah, president of Talacauvery Temple Committee, “Following reports in media about Kodagu being unsafe after the recent floods and landslides, no devotee from outside is visiting Talacauvery. Only a handful of local residents are coming to take the blessings of the Cauvery.”The district administration had deployed 25 additional KSRTC buses, including 15 mini-buses from Bhagamandala to Talacauvery. But they were withdrawn after not many takers were found.
“It is customary for us to visit Bhagamandala and Talacauvery each year after Tula Sankramana. And this year, we left Madikeri at around 5 am thinking that the place would be crowded. However, we were the only visitors there. We finished our pujas and returned home before 11 am as it was not crowded,” said Dechamma, an assistant manager at a local firm.
Somesh, another devotee who visited the pilgrimage centres a day after the festival, said, “I was the only one taking part at the customary ritual at Bhagamandala triveni sangama ... I was the only one in the line for the customary shaving of head at the centre.”Vasu, a barber at Bhagamandala, said, “There used to be long queue each day during this time. However, I get hardly get one devotee now.”