BENGALURU: Former prime minister H D Deve Gowda and his entire family, including wife Chennamma, sons H D Kumaraswamy and H D Revanna, are seeking the blessings of Lord Venkateshwara atop Tirumala Hills on the eve of the lunar eclipse.The family left for Tirupati on Thursday evening and is scheduled to offer special puja at the Venkateshwara temple ahead of the eclipse which occurs on Friday night. Said to be the longest lunar eclipse of the century, it is termed as Blood Moon Eclipse due to its red tinge and is being seen as a harbinger of tragic events ahead by some astrologers. Gowda’s family, which has strong faith in astrology and religious rituals, is set to perform the puja ahead of the eclipse to ward off ‘evil forces’.
The Chief Minister’s visit is also expected to help remove legal hurdles in building a ‘Karnataka Bhavan’ on 7.5 acres atop Tirumala Hills in Tirupati for the convenience of thousands of pilgrims who visit the temple town daily.
A stay order issued by Andhra Pradesh High
Court while hearing PIL filed by a private individual against allowing any construction on the plot has proved a hurdle for the Karnataka government to build the Bhavan. The previous Siddaramaiah government had provided `20 crore in its budget for the construction of the Karnataka Bhavan at Tirumala.