Sankeertana Yatra held at Srirangapatna amid tight security

The event is held every year and conducted by the Hindu Jagaran Vedike whose leaders say that the Jamia Masjid at Srirangapatna was originally the Moodalabagilu Anjaneyaswamy temple and was relocated during the period of Tipu Sultan

The historical town of Srirangapatna appeared to be under siege with more than 1,200 policemen deployed for the Sankeertana Yatra and Hanuman Maladharane event organised by the Hindu Jagaran Vedike, on Sunday.

The event passed off without any major incidents though there were some tense moments when activists raised slogans near the Jamia Masjid. The procession commenced at Nimishamba temple on the banks of the Cauvery before entering the town.

The event is held every year and conducted by the vedike whose leaders say that the Jamia Masjid at Srirangapatna was originally the Moodalabagilu Anjaneyaswamy temple and was relocated during the period of Tipu Sultan.

Lohit Urs, convener of the vedike, said their long-term objective was to rebuild the temple at the site of the mosque and the Sankeertana Yatra was part of an ongoing endeavour to create public awareness and drum up support for their cause.

Nearly 5,000 devotees from Mysuru, Mandya, Chamarajanagar, and surrounding regions took part in the Sankeertana Yatra, which was punctuated by slogans vowing to rebuild the temple.

In the run-up to the Sunday’s event, the Mandya district administration had beefed up security in Srirangapatna and the mosque was barricaded.

Police vans were stationed along the perimeter of the boundary of the mosque and hundreds of policemen were stationed as the first layer of security.

As the procession reached the main road opposite the mosque, vedike members raised slogans, sang bhajans, and tried to break through the security cordon but it was foiled by the police.

The procession was preceded by a programme where leaders of the vedike and other organisations called for “awakening” among the Hindus.

They also recalled the struggle launched for securing land to establish temporary shelters for pilgrims visiting Amarnath Shrine in Jammu and Kashmir.

The vedike raised issues related to waqf land and said that it should be opposed; an oath was administered to the participants to strive to achieve their aim of building the temple.

Apart from the Mandya police, there were multiple platoons of the Karnataka State Reserve Police in place in addition to rapid action force, to prevent any untoward incident.

The authorities monitored the situation using drones and through CCTV cameras.

Published - December 15, 2024 08:17 pm IST