Ballari: Liquor may be banned in Hampi, but that does not stop either its sale or foreign tourists from drinking chilled beer while going around the ancient monuments at the world heritage site in the soaring heat.
On Tuesday, however, a few went too far: they drank inside the Sri Virupaksha temple complex, angering devotees.
The scandalised locals complained that a group of skimpily dressed young men and women, all foreigners, were seen getting intimate with each other and also drinking inside the much revered Sri Virupaksha temple, where the prime deity of the 15th century Vijayanagar empire is worshipped.
"April 18 is not only World Heritage Day and also the founding day of the Vijayanagar empire. It is very sad that on this holy day, a few foreigners disrespected our sacred temple. We blame the temple authorities for allowing this vulgarity," said a local resident, Hanumanthappa.
"Unless we educate foreign tourists on how to behave inside our sacred temples, such incidents will continue to occur. The temple authorities must inform both domestic and foreign tourists about the behavior expected of them inside temples," added a local merchant, Kumar.
"Although liquor is banned in Hampi, there are several restaurants around Hampi which continue to sell it at exorbitant rates to tourists. The sale of illicit liquor is the root cause of this nuisance," said Harish Kumar, a college student.
