Chamarajanagar district admin starts preparations for Ashadha car festival

Mysuru: Chamarajanagar district administration has started preparations for the famous Ashadha car festival of Chamarajeshwara Temple in Chamarajanagar. The car festival will be held on July 20.
While auspicious events are not performed in the Hindu month of Ashadha, the border town hosts the car festival during Ashadha, in which newly-weds offer special puja to the deity.
As the car festival will be held on July 20 this year, the temple authorities has started the chariot-building preparations after performing Girija Kalayana puja at Chamarajeshwara Temple.
Former minister and MLA CS Puttarangashetty inaugurated the chariot preparations works in the presence of temple authorities and Chamarajanagar city civic body officials.
The car festival is famous among newly-married couples as they visit it in large numbers from Mysuru, Mandya, Chamarajanagar districts and from the adjoining Tamil Nadu state during Ashadha celebrations to offer special puja.
The car festival was not held between 2017 and 2022 as miscreants set fire to an old chariot and desecrated it. The then government led by Siddaramaiah ordered for the construction of a new chariot at a cost of Rs 1.20 crore, including the construction of a chariot house in the temple premises. The government shouldered the responsibility for construction of the same to Bengaluru-based sculptors and chariot makers.
Now the Chamarajanagar district administration has been holding the car festival with the newly-built chariot fully prepared using teak wood from last three years.
Maharaja built the temple
The temple has a history of 200 years. This is the only temple which conducts car festivals during the month of Ashadha. Mysuru maharaja Mummadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar had built the Chamarajeshwara Temple.
Puttarangashetty said directions have been given to police and district administration to make all necessary preparations for smooth conduct of the celebrations. Last year, police had deployed 800 to 1,000 police personnel for bandobast. The car festival of the temple is famous since the days of the Maharajas of Mysuru, he said.