The Karaga festival will not be celebrated this year. A decision to this effect was taken by the Deputy Commissioner (Bengaluru Urban) and communicated to the Dharmarayaswamy Temple on Monday.
According to A. Rajagopal, chairman of the Bangalore Karaga managing committee, Dharmarayaswamy Temple, the order was physically handed over to the committee late on Monday evening. He claimed that it is for the first time that the Karaga festivity had been stopped.
The nine-day festivity was to begin on Tuesday morning with the traditional flag hoisting. It was to culminate with the Karaga being taken out in a grand procession from the temple on April 8.
The Deputy Commissioner’s order states that the Union government had put in place a 21-day lockdown to check the spread of COVID-19. The Centre had also directed the States to ensure all places of worship are closed for the public. “In view of the Centre’s directions and Disaster Management Act, 2005, the festivities should not be held,” the order reads. The Karaga festival is celebrated by the Vahnikula Kshatriya community.
