Mysuru: Fifteen minutes delay in arrival to the temple saved Gopalan, Ravi and nearly 24 of his friends from consuming toxin mixed prasadam served at Kichchugatti Maramma Temple in Kollegal Taluk of Chamarajanagar district. Gopalan who was fifteen minutes late even went and asked for prasadam but to his luck it had already exhausted.
Gopalan from Modike Halla village of Kollegal Taluk is a frequent visitor to this famous temple. On the fateful Friday, the first batch of his nearly 30 friends went to the temple in different vehicles but the second batch consisting of nearly 28 members went late by about 15 minutes. Soon after going to the temple, as usual, they went to have prasadam and four of his friends somehow got it. When Gopalan asked for it was over. Few minutes later, to his surprise, those who had consumed prasadam started to vomit and feel uneasy. Those who didn’t consume prasadam managed to alert the local health centres and local leaders.
Before going to Melmaruvathur Adhiparasakthi Temple, it is practice to visit Maramma
“For the past eight years, I have been visiting the temple which is nearly 10 km away from my house, atleast thrice a week by paying just Rs 10 auto fare. It’s not only me but most of the people in the surrounding villages visit this temple before going to Melmaruvathur Adhiparasakthi Temple. On Friday, there was a 15 minutes delay in our vehicle reaching the temple and prasadam was over. Within few minutes, to my utter shock, many people started to vomit and feel uneasy. We immediately called our friends and tried to shift them to a local health centre. Within few minutes, many more suffered the same and we were helpless. Nearly 22 from our village have been admitted in various hospitals.”
