The evil practice of ‘Sidi’ which was thought to have discontinued in Gulbarga and Yadgir districts, surfaced again at Havnoor village of Afzalpur taluk.
When the ‘Sidi’ was performed on Sunday in the annual fair of Hayyala Siddeshwara at Havnoor, nobody from the district administration and health officials were present at the fair. Gulbarga Deputy Commissioner Prasanna Kumar told Express that he was unaware of the incident and expressed his shock about the cruel practice.
Performing ‘Sidi’ is self cruelty. Devotees would perform this typical offering after their wishes are fulfilled. In this cruel practice, priests would pierce hooks in the back of devotees. After inserting the hook, the devotees would be tied to a crane-and lifted up. The devotee would throw turmeric in the air and on the temple. This would take about ten minutes per devotee.
In many temples of Gulbarga and Yadgir, ‘Sidi’ was performed five years back. The Gulbarga district administration felt that ‘Sidi’ was a cruel practice and imposed a ban. If at all devotees want to perform ‘Sidi,’ the district administration used to give sterilized hooks but they were prohibited from being lifted. As the ban was strictly implemented in Bhagyavanti Temple of Ghattarga village, most temples in Gulbarga and Yadgir districts stopped the practice.
When Express visited Havnoor village, it witnessed devotees performing the ritual. A villager Sidramappa said that nothing untoward has happened to anybody during the practice. It is a matter of belief. When nothing happens, why should it be banned, he questioned.
Another devotee Kapalamma claimed that some people who were struggling for their livelihood now own car worth `30 lakh after offering this ritual. A cleaner said that the hooks would be cleaned before and after piercing the back of devotees. He said that surgical spirit and cotton would be used to clean the hooks.
Surprisingly no health staff were in the Jatra and there were only a few police constables. The Jatra attracted thousands of people from Gulbarga and Maharastra.
DC Prasanna Kumar said that the administration would issue a circular within a day or two enforcing the ban throughout the district. He further said that a study would be conducted on the mode of Jatras in temples of the district to prevent such inhuman practices.