The Hindu

Mangalore, Oct 23: The Religious Endowments Ministry will take steps to provide lodging facilities for devotees from Karnataka visiting temples in Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The governments of these States have agreed lease land and buildings to the State Government for the purpose.

Minister for Religious Endowments B. Nagaraj Shetty said here on Saturday that Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, during his recent visit to Kollur, had agreed to examine leasing out land and buildings to the Karnataka Government on long-term in Ganigapur, Kolhapur and Nasik where choultries (lodging facilities) would be constructed by the Karnataka Government. The government has intimated its wish to have similar facilities in Guruvayur and Sabarimala in Kerala and Madurai in Tamil Nadu.

In Andhra Pradesh, the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam Trust has handed over seven acres of land for constructing a 286 room facility in Tirumala. The project would cost Rs. 5 crore and is expected to be completed by March 31, 2007.

He said statistics showed that the Tirupati Tirumala temples get the largest number of devotees from Karnataka.

The TTD Trust has proposed to install a statue of the saint Purandaradasa in Tirupati. The Karnataka Government has proposed to donate the statue.