The first Additional Senior Civil Judge and JMFC, Puttur, Devaraj Y.K, on October 15, sentenced a man to two years in prison and remaining two other accused to one year in prison on finding them guilty of assaulting a woman and harassing her in Kuria village of Puttur taluk in Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka on December 27, 2022.

The Puttur Rural police charged Arun Kumar of trespassing on the property of his sister Asha Shankar Bhandary, along with his employees G. Vinay Kumar and P.M. Sundara, and assaulting her and also tearing her nightdress. When her husband H. Shankar Bhandary tried to intervene, the accused abused him and Ms. Bhandary, and threatened them. Arun Kumar, Vinay Kumar, and Sundara were charged for offences under Sections Sections 447, 504, 506, 323, and 354 of the Indian Penal Code.

Arun Kumar was sentenced for two years of simple imprisonment and fined ₹10,000 for the offence under Section 354 of IPC. The fine amount of ₹10,000 shall be confiscated to the State.

He was also sentenced to six months of simple imprisonment for the offence under Section 323 of IPC. Arun, Vinay, and Sundara were further sentenced to one year simple imprisonment and told to pay fine of ₹5,000 each for the offence under Section 506 of IPC.

Sentences against Arun will run concurrently, the Magistrate said.

The famed Nagaradhana Centre at Kukke Sri Subrahmanya Temple in Dakshina Kannada district, that witnesses more than one crore footfalls annually, will soon add at least one thousand more rooms for visiting devotees.

For this purpose, the temple administration is set to construct three choultry blocks, each at a cost of ₹60 crore, and two dormitory blocks, to cost ₹50 crore each, at Injadi, closer to the temple.

There was a dire need to augment accommodation for devotees as at present, only about 200 rooms operated by the temple administration were available to them, said Karnataka Minister for Transport and Hindu Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowments Department Ramalinga Reddy.

Mr. Reddy told The Hindu that adding more accommodation was part of the Master Plan Phase III for the development of facilities at Subrahmanya at an estimated cost of ₹604.65 crore, cleared recently by the State Cabinet. The temple has enough funds in deposits to undertake the works, he said.

Master Plan Phase III for Kukke Subrahmanya’s development

Source: Hindu Religious Institutions and Charitable Endowments Department

Seva complexes

Thousands of devotees throng Kukke Subrahmanya from across the country to perform three important rituals — Sarpa Samskara, Naga Pratishthe and Ashlesha Bali. Initially, all the three sevas were being performed inside the temple complex only.

A few years back, a separate Yaga Shala was constructed for Sarpa Samskara Seva that needed more space while Naga Pratishthe and Ashlesha Bali continued to be performed inside the temple. Under the new Master Plan, the cabinet has approved construction of three more Yaga Shala complexes for Sarpa Samskara (₹16.4 crore) and one Ashlesha Bali Mantapa (₹9.5 crore) near the temple, Mr. Reddy said.

Temple surroundings

The plan also envisages renovation of the Suthu Pouli (outer peripheral wall) of the temple at an estimated cost of ₹32 crore. A new, ground plus two floor Anna Dasoha (dining hall) complex, that could feed at least 6,000 devotees at a time would be constructed at ₹77.25 crore cost, said Temple Executive Officer Aravinda Ayyappa Suthagundi.

The Ratha Beedi (Car Street) of the temple would be done afresh in a traditional style with unpolished granite flooring at a cost of ₹47.5 crore. A commercial complex-cum-choultry would be constructed on the left-hand side of the temple at a cost of ₹82 crore.

Mr. Reddy said the temple administration would also take care of its employees by way of providing residential quarters — three blocks each for Group C and D employees at a cost of ₹32.25 crore and ₹27.75 crore each.

In two years

The department has decided to get all these works executed by the Public Works Department itself. “Tenders will soon be floated and all the works will get completed within two years, during this government’s tenure itself,” Mr. Reddy said.