Karnataka - Mysore   

INTACH ridicules row over `agra puja'

By Our Staff Correspondent

The statue of the goddess Cauvery at the Krishna Raja Sagar

MYSORE, AUG. 12. Is it the prerogative of the Chief Minister to offer "agra puja'' to the goddess Cauvery at the Krishna Raja Sagar (KRS) on the reservoir attaining the Full Reservoir Level (FRL)? The question has assumed importance following a recent controversy when the MP, C.H. Vijayshankar of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was denied permission by the authorities to offer "agra puja'' at the KRS. Mr. Vijayshankar wanted to offer "agra puja'' and "baagina'' to the goddess Cauvery on Monday when the reservoir reached the 120 feet mark against the FRL of 124.80 feet.

BJP plan

Since it was for the first time in the past four years that the reservoir was close to attaining the FRL, the BJP had planned to offer puja as a thanksgiving and made elaborate arrangements.

But the Irrigation Department here refused permission on the grounds that the Chief Minister should perform the puja first. When the BJP activists confronted the authorities, they cited a Government instruction excluding others from performing puja at the reservoir till the Chief Minister offered "baagina".

Govt.'s contention

Though there is no written communique in this regard, it has been inferred going by the treatment meted out to a senior engineer at the Kabini reservoir who was reprimanded when farmers led by their leader, Kurubur Shantakumar, performed puja and received wide publicity. The Government's contention was that a few unauthorised persons, according to officials at the KRS, had offered puja ahead of the Chief Minister. Following this, the BJP activists returned after garlanding the statue of the goddess Cauvery at the Brindavan Gardens. Meanwhile, the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) has ridiculed the Government's decision to usurp religious powers and bar public from performing puja at the KRS. The convenor of the Mysore chapter of INTACH, Krishna Vattam, said that it was ridiculous that there should be a controversy over offering puja to the goddess Cauvery at the KRS.

New precedent

He said that it amounted to setting a new precedent and divesting others of their right to perform religious rituals. He dubbed the concept of offering puja at the reservoir or other dams as an event for publicity and was otherwise devoid of any significance. In this context, he pointed out that when the Bhaakra Nangal Project was completed the Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, thought it fit to have the "agra puja" done by a worker.

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