Mangaluru: Sri Kshethra Dharmasthala Dharmadhikari Dr D Veerendra Heggade has urged the devotees who are planning a pilgrimage to the temple to postpone their plans owing to severe drought.
In a press release, Dr Heggade has said that the entire district of Dakshina Kannada is reeling under drought-like situation and Dharmasthala is no different.
“The inflow into river Nethravathi at Dharmasthala has taken a nosedive. A huge amount of water is used by the pilgrims in Dharmasthala and meeting this water requirement is not possible at present. Hence the pilgrims must co-operate by postponing the pilgrimage,” read a release from Dr Heggade.
Thousands of devotees visit Sri Kshethra Dharmasthala on a daily basis. The numbers shoot up during the summer vacation. This is for the first time that such a communication has been made by the temple management.
The Dakshina Kannada district is facing drought and in Mangaluru, the City Corporation has started water rationing.
The release has evoked debate on social networking sites, where many are seen questioning the feasibility of the Yettinahole project that intends to feed water from river Nethravathi to some of the parched districts of the state.
