Bengaluru’s famous Hoovina Karaga tonight

BENGALUER: The countdown for the Bengaluru Karaga festival has begun. Today is the world-famous Bengaluru Karaga Shaktyotsava and special puja ceremonies are being held at the Sri Dharmaraya Swamy Temple from morning. A special puja was performed at the Cubbon Park Karaga Kunte, followed by the Karpura Seve (camphor burning) at the temple.

Devotees offer harake (special prayers) to Draupadi Devi by lighting camphor along the streets. In the evening, the Baleshastra ceremony will be held at the Dharmaraya Swamy Temple, followed by a holy bath at Sampangi Tank around 9 pm. Later, puja will be offered at the Adishakti Temple at the BBMP headquarters.

Around 12:30 am, the Hoovina Karaga will be carried out a procession on the streets of old Bengaluru, and the Karaga Shaktyotsava will continue throughout the night. The Hoovina Karaga will return to the temple around 6 am tomorrow.

The temple administration has made a special appeal to devotees to offer only loose jasmine flowers to the Karaga and not to throw any other puja materials. They have also requested people to view the procession from a distance and be cautious while decorating the streets with electric lights and garlands.

Sathish, the president of the Dharmaraya Swamy Temple managing committee, said the Bengaluru Karaga festival, a renowned celebration honoring Goddess Draupadi, is facing financial woes. Despite being allocated Rs 1.5 crore, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) and the Muzrai department haven’t released any funds for the festival, which started eight days ago.

He further said the committee is struggling to arrange for over 1,000 garlands and flowers for the festival. The management committee and priests are using their own money to fund the festival, he said.

Satish alleged that former mayor P R Ramesh and officials have withheld money. They have been harassing them till now.

In response to the allegations, P R Ramesh said he isn’t responsible for the delay in releasing funds for the Bengaluru Karaga festival. He said he met with the chief commissioner recently, and the first installment of Rs 40 lakh was released Friday morning. The second installment will also be released once the proper utilization certificate is submitted.

According to court directives, an officials’ committee should manage the festival’s expenditures, while the existing committee should continue to oversee the event. The management committee’s role is limited to supervision, with no authority to withdraw funds or make financial decisions, he pointed out.

Ramesh assured that he’s in touch with officials to ensure the Karaga festival proceeds smoothly without any issues.