Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa had on Saturday said the festivities will be conducted in a low-key fashion, the high court yesterday ordered the state government to not allow the festival, Swarajya has reported.

For the first time in 150 years, Bengaluru called off its famous Karaga festival

During the auspicious festival lakhs of devotees gather in parts of old central Bengaluru to witness the arrival of the divine mother Shakti. Draupadi makes her annual visit to meet her Veerakumaras, the soldiers she created to finish Timirasura at the end of the Mahabharata.

But this year for the first time in 150 years the city and the temple will be deprived of this opportunity owing to the lockdown regulations in place.

While Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa had on Saturday said the festivities will be conducted in a low-key fashion, the high court yesterday ordered the state government to not allow the festival.

With the state government’s conditional permission last week, the Shri Dharmarayaswami temple at Nagarathpet had decided to hold the festival with no crowds. Bu the High Court ordered the temple administration to cancel those arrangements too and said the temple would stay closed today.

Corona pandemic has brought this historic Karaga festival to a halt, which had been conducted even when the British announced a curfew at the time of plague outbreak’ .

Image Source: bangalorepress.blogspot.com