Lord Shiva temple accessible to devotees after 33 years as water in Chiklihole reservoir near Suntikoppa recedes
Summer is peaking in the state to compound the prevailing drought and as a result of receding water levels in dams across the state, submerged structures have been resurfacing. With some of the buildings showing up being temples, people have some reason to celebrate even in the eventuality of a shortage of water. So it is, at the Chiklihole dam near Suntikoppa of Kodagu district, after a lord Shiva temple emerged recently.
The temple that was submerged in the reservoir is visible for the first time in 33 years. The spot has since been attracting tourists, who are otherwise missing the pleasing sight of surging waters in the Cauvery catchment area in Kodagu they have been familiar with.
The Chiklihole reservoir, from which water is supplied to farmers of Kushalanagar, Rangasamudra, Bettageri, Nanjaraya Pattana and Guddehosuru among others, has a storage capacity of 0.18 TMC.
The temple area was included in the Chiklihole dam basin in 1983, after experts concluded the land was a good source of water. The government ordered an alternative temple to be built nearby, and in 1993, a Magdooru family constructed the temple of Vishwanatha and installed the main idol of lord Shiva from the old temple in it.
That Vishwanatha temple of Magdooru went on to become famous.
According to residents of Magdooru, Shivaratri is celebrated grandly in the new temple of their village, but with them now being able to access the old temple, they will celebrate the festival even better. Sai Kumar of the Magadooru family, which hails from Kerala, told Bangalore Mirror, “Our ancestors moved from Kerala to this place
in 1947 and they constructed the temple in 1969. As the temple was sunk in the reservoir in 1983, we constructed another one in 1993 on land allotted by the government. We are very happy to see the original temple now.”
Karthik Prasad, a tourist from Mysuru, visits the reservoir at least once a year. “This year I saw the temple, which was like a fantasy,” he said.
source: http://www.bangaloremirror.indiatimes.com / Bangalore Mirror / Home> News> State / by Bangalore Mirror Bureau / by Manoj Sharma / April 26th, 2017
