Hasanamba temple devotees in Hassan protested after general darshan was temporarily halted during Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar’s visit on Sunday, with some devotees throwing slippers at a television screen showing visuals of the chief minister inside the sanctum sanctorum.
According to a report by The Times of India, Shivakumar visited the temple with his wife at around noon and spent time inside the sanctum performing special prayers. During the visit, entry through the general darshan queue was stopped until the chief minister completed his prayers.
The interruption affected devotees who had already been waiting in long queues for several hours. The report said thousands of devotees, particularly women, were present in the queues when the halt took place. The delay led to anger among those waiting to enter the temple.
Tensions intensified after visuals of Shivakumar seated inside the sanctum were displayed on a television screen installed near the queue. Several women criticised the decision to stop the general queue while the chief minister was inside the temple. One devotee was quoted as saying that people elect a chief minister to protect their interests rather than cause them hardship.
Several other devotees reportedly supported the criticism. In an expression of anger, some devotees removed their slippers and threw them at the television screen displaying the visuals. The incident was subsequently circulated on social media.
The episode highlights the operational challenge of managing access at a crowded religious site during visits by senior public officials. At the Hasanamba temple, where devotees were already waiting for extended periods, temporarily suspending general darshan created an immediate conflict between priority access for a dignitary and the movement of ordinary visitors.
The report did not provide details of the total number of devotees at the temple, the duration of the queue suspension, or any official explanation from the temple administration or the chief minister’s office. It also did not state whether the television screen or any other property was damaged during the protest.
The incident occurred during Shivakumar’s temple visit on Sunday afternoon. Further details about crowd-management arrangements, the temple administration’s response and any action following the protest were not available in the supplied report.
