Public rouse against the removal of Ashwatha Katte at Car Street

Public rouse against the removal of Ashwatha Katte at Car Street

Mangaloretoday News Network

Mangalore, March 10:  The platform surrounding the majestic peepal tree (Ashwatta Katte) opposite Lord Venkataramana Temple on Car Street in Mangalore has now become the center of dispute between two groups. Today, the argument turned heated and the police had to intervene to pacify everybody.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It may be recalled here that SVT MAT friends Club  from Car Street had renovated the  dilapidated Ashwatha katte six years back.  Nearly Rs 6 lakh was  raised from public to renovate  the Ashwatha katte.

 

Reportedly, the Ashwatta Katte is in the list of illegal religious structures, which have to be demolished according to the Supreme Court orders. The commissioner of the Mangalore City Corporation (MCC) is reported to have assured concerned parties that the structure can be regularized if the size of the platform is cut down by 2ft on each side. The temple management has written a letter to the MCC on March 10, Thursday expressing its willingness to cut down the size of the platform.

Although the temple management, along with a majority of the devotees, has agreed to cutting down the size of the Ashwatta Katte, some people want it to be retained as it is. Certain organizations and individuals do not approve of the temple management’s readiness to cut down the Ashwatta Katte to size.

More than 100 people are against cutting down the size of the Ashwatta Katte. The SVT MAT Friends Club on Car Street had spent nearly Rs. 6 lakh raised from the public on renovating this Ashwatta Katte nearly a decade back. The place has been the venue for a number of public events such as Sathyanarayana Pooja, Shanishwara Pooja, and the Mangalore Rathotsava since times immemorial.

This morning, certain members of the temple trust ordered temple workers to remove the top two layers of the stone platform. When the work commenced, people gathered on the spot and began protesting.

Although the police intervened to bring about law and order, the situation is tense.