Made Snana rerun at Pavagada

TUMKUR: The controversy over the made made snana at Kukke Subrahmanya may have barely died down but a similar custom was observed by devotees at the 400-year-old Subrahmanya Swami Temple at Nagalamadike in Pavagada taluk on Friday.After a small group of Brahmins first rolled over leaves on which another Brahmin group had finished their meals, the temple doors were opened to let in hundreds of Dalits, who scrambled for the leaves and carried them over their heads. They then dropped the leaves on the dry bed of the Uttara Pinakini river. Devotees believe that rolling over the leftovers would cure them of ear and skin ailments.The devotees then bathed with water from ponds set up by the muzrai department. The temple draws devotees from backward taluks of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh where Dalits and SC/STs constitute a majority of the population.Former minister and MLA Venkataramanappa, who took part in the car festival later in the afternoon, told Express that he never practised the ritual but said awareness must be raised against it. Tahasildar G S Prasannakumar said he had discussed the issue with officials to stop the practice but could not take a decision fearing trouble. It is a centuries’ old ritual and involves public sentiment, he added.Rationalist K Dorairaju urged the district administration to ban practices degrading human dignity and said the health department must take an initiative to create awareness.