Gokarna Mahabaleshwar temple priests clash over puja rights

KARWAR: Priests at the Mahabaleshwara Temple in Gokarna got into tussle on Thursday over rights of two families to perform puja. The two groups protested inside the temple premises for some time, blocking devotees from having darshan of the deity in the sanctum sanctorum.

The Jambe family and the Gopi family fought over who will conduct the rituals at the Nandi Mandapam and distribute theerta (holy water) to devotees. The two families have approached the court for their rights.

The Jambe family has been giving theertha at Nandi Mandapam for the past few months. The Gopi family has now raised the objection, stating that their family will get the right from this time.

There is a tussle between two families over the right to offer teertha at Nandi Mandapam. The Gopi family staged a protest inside the temple. Police rushed to the place where the families were clashint and tried to calm them down.