Chamarajanagar: If one temple in Chamarajnagar (Maramma temple in Hanur) was in the news recently for the infamous Prasada poisoning tragedy which has killed 17 people so far, another is set to give the jinxed district its share of glory with a massive restoration effort now underway.
Politicians who in the past feared to visit the district, worried that they would lose power, did not dare to visit the Chamarajeshwara Temple located in the heart of Chamarajanagar town either. Maybe things will change once this ancient temple, built by the Mysuru Maharajas, is restored to its past glory.
It was then Maharaja of Mysuru, Mummadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar who built the temple in 1750 AD with the place later getting the name Chamarajanagar from the deity, Chamarajeshwara.
Despite the prevailing belief about the jinx, temple priest Ramakrishna Bharadwaj told Deccan Chronicle, “The deity has special powers and does no harm to anyone.” Temple sources say many chief ministers avoided a visit to Chamarajeshwara Temple but former CM Siddaramaiah dared to visit the temple four times during his tenure also lasted his full term in office.
Department of Archaeology, Museums and Heritage which is the custodian of Chamarajeshwara Temple, has completed restoration work which include lime plaster of the outer walls, 95 prabhavalis (arches), scrapping and polishing of doors and installation of new doors in the sanctum sanctorum besides restoration of the dilapidated tower. It was Chamarajanagar MLA Puttaranga Shetty who came up with the idea of restoring the temple during the term of the previous government.
The restoration has been taken up at a cost of Rs 2.10 crore and officials of the Department of Archaeology, Museums and Heritage are confident that the work will be over in a month. Temple Executive Officer Manjeshwar says that once restored, the shrine will be a huge attraction and the jinx will fade away from public memory.
