MYSURU: The iconic statue of Nandi Bull atop Chamundi Hills will now be illuminated. All these years, devotees faced trouble while offering prayers after sunset in the area, including the Nandi Bull temple, as it was inadequately illuminated. The place had become a haven for miscreants.A German woman was molested and robbed of her belongings close to the temple and an executive was robbed of his gold chain by bikeborne youths some time ago. They took advantage of darkness to commit the offences. Tourists and devotees at the temple had become soft targets.The statue, installed during the period of Dodda Devaraja Wadiyar, is around 360 years old. It’s the biggest monolithic statue of Nandi Bull in this part of Karnataka. It was installed to facilitate devotees of Sri Chamundeshwari climbing the hill shrine to have a view of the deity.In its heyday, the statue was offered special abhishekas on the lines of Bahubali’s Mahamastakabisheka along with regular prayers but later it was discontinued. A decade ago, devotees formed an association and restored the statue to its former glory by commencing abhishekas.Despite the temple attracting many devotees through the year, the area was poorly light. Following a demand by devotees, the Chamundeshwari temple authorities planned to illuminate the Nandi Bull statue and its surroundings with high-mast lighting Chamundeshwari temple chief priest Shashi Shekar Dixit welcomed the move. The temple is open till 8.30pm and pujas are offered after sunset too. “The authorities should take up a similar project to illuminate the entire Chamundi Hill. Devikere Road and Uttanahalli Maramma Temple road too are not adequately lit,” he said.The temple authorities handed over this project to Mysuru Urban Development Authority. MUDA superintending engineer Suresh Babu said the project is under way. Along with this, a Chamundi Hill view point will be illuminated at a total cost of Rs 10.5 lakh. White high-mast LED lights will be fixed to brighten the hill shrine, he said.

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