BELUR: Depicting communal harmony, amid the row over the ban on non- Hindus to set up stalls during the famous Channakeshava Car festival in Belur, the chariot carrying the idol of Lord Channakeshava was pulled after a muslim cleric read a few versus from the Quran in front of the chariot.
Thousands of devotees from various parts of the district and state witnessed the car festival in Belur on Wednesday.
The idol of Lord Channakeshava installed on the chariot was pulled by the devotees led by Belur MLA K S Lingesh after Syed Basha Khadri, a muslim cleric, recited a few verses from the Quran in front of the chariot.
Following the direction of priests- Krishnaswamy Bhat and Srinivasa Bhat, devotees started pulling the chariot at exactly 11:20 am. Earlier, a group of priests performed rituals continuously for many hours. As per tradition, devotees showered plantains, davana and flowers on the chariot.
The temple had arranged prasadam, Kosumbari and Panaka. Additional deputy commissioner Kavita Rajaram and temple executive officer were present.