Anger reportedly erupted among devotees at Karnataka’s Hasanamba Temple after the general darshan queue was allegedly paused during Chief Minister D K Shivakumar’s special puja on Deepavali, with some devotees throwing footwear at an LED screen showing visuals of the ritual.
Shivakumar visited the temple on Sunday with his wife to offer prayers to the deity and perform a special puja inside the sanctum sanctorum, according to a report by PTI published by Deccan Chronicle. The visit took place during the temple’s annual opening, a limited period when the shrine attracts large numbers of devotees.
The report said entry through the general darshan queue was allegedly stopped temporarily during the Chief Minister’s visit. Several devotees who had reportedly been waiting for hours expressed anger over the delay. Some removed their slippers and threw them at an LED screen broadcasting visuals of Shivakumar and his wife performing the puja.
A video of the incident has circulated on social media. The reported episode highlights the operational pressure faced by authorities during the Hasanamba Temple’s short annual opening, when large crowds gather for darshan over the Deepavali festival period. The supplied report did not provide details of the number of devotees present, the duration of the alleged pause, or any official explanation from the temple administration or local authorities.
The Hasanamba Temple opens only once a year for a limited period as part of its annual rituals. That restricted access window makes queue management and the coordination of special visits particularly significant for devotees who travel to the temple during the festival season.
The Karnataka BJP commented on the incident in a post on X, writing, “This is what happened just by seeing him on the screen… Imagine what would happen if they encountered him in person!” The supplied report did not include a response from Shivakumar, the temple authorities or the district administration to the devotees’ allegations. Further details on crowd-control arrangements and the next steps, if any, were not immediately available in the report.
