Chaos erupts at Vasuki Ananthpadmanabha Temple During hand over of Land

Udupi: The legal tussle mixed with religious sentiments created chaos at the Vasuki Ananthpadmanabha Temple here on March 21.

Vasuki Ananthpadmanabha temple near the Shree Krishna Math was extended in the land which was purchased in a auction but with the court scrapping the auction, the temple extension was to be demolished. Ramana Bhat representing his mother Varija Bhat owns the land which was auctioned. Ramana had filed a case against the bank and the court had scrapped the auction. Srikanth Samaga, son of Gopalkrishna Bhat had purchased the land in the auction, he is now not ready to vacate the land saying that the bank has not paid his amount which he had paid while buying the land in the auction despite the court order which had indicated the bank to pay the amount. The AR co-operative Societies on 21 March had arrived to hand over the land to Ramanna Bhat when the tussle and chaos erupted.

The land in which the extension of the temple has been built was mortgaged for a loan of rupees 1,00,000 in 1990-91 at the Mahalakshmi Co-operative Bank Udupi by Gopalakrishna Bhat and Varija Bhat for 5 years (60 months). Gopalkrishna Bhat failed to pay monthly installments, and Mahalakshmi Co-operative Bank auctioned the land mortgaged by Bhat for 3.95 lakh. The land was purchased by Krishnamurthy Samaga in an auction.

Later a petition was filed on behalf of Varija Bhat in the High Court of Karnataka seeking stay on auction. The purchasers of the mortgaged land demolished the house in the land and the Temple which was adjacent to the mortgaged land was developed. with a building, entrance gate and a lake in the land.

The High court of Karnataka later scrapped the auction of the land and ordered the Registrar of the Co-operative societies to refund the amount received by auction to Krishnamurthy Samaga, it also ordered to return the land to Varija Bhat.

Varija Bhat’s son Ramanna Bhat alleges that his mother was forcibly evicted from the house. He says that the bank authorities to benefit others and without proper consultation had mortgaged the land. The High Court of Karnatka and even the apex court of India has passed the order in his favor.

Krishnamurthy Samaga’s son Srikanth Samaga said that they are complying with the court order but since they had not received the auction amount from the bank with interest as ordered by the court, they would not vacate from the land.

Paryaya Pejawar Shree Vishweshateertha Swamiji who made a visit to the temple interacting with Ramannna Bhat said that, as people’s sentiments are attached with the temple, he should engage with the talks with the temple authorities.

Later a meeting was conveyed in Badagumalige of Shree Krishna Math where a offer was said to be made to Ramana Bhat, where the temple management would pay him Rs 10,00,000 and also provide him with 5 cents of land, but the offer is said to have been rejected by Ramana Bhat.

The Assistant Registrar of the Co-operative Societies, Chandrapratima MJ with a court order arrived at the place to hand over the possession of 5 cents of land from the temple management to Ramana Bhat. The surveyor surveyed the extension of the land, and while the order was ready to give the possession of land to Ramana Bhat, chaos erupted. Ramana Bhat said that two of the shops which were constructed in the land mortgaged were to be vacated by AR Co-operative societies, AR said that her job was to just handover the land to his possession according to the court’s order.

Srikanth Samaga said that Ramana had no right in marking the land extension in the temple premises, for which Ramana insisted that the markings were part of surveying process. Later AR handed over the possession of land to Ramana.

The AR who had arrived early in the morning to hand over the possession of land was kept waiting. The court had ordered to hand over the possession by 11 AM but with the intervention of former MLA Raghupati Bhat and Pejawar Shree Vishweshateertha Swamiji and with the meeting conveyed between Ramana and the temple authorities AR was made to wait till the evening. Later AR initiated the survey process and finally handed over the land to Ramana.