MANGALORE: The Kukke Sri Subramanya temple, 90 km from here, has again emerged as the richest muzrai (government-run) temple in Karnataka. Figures released by the office of commissioner for religious endowments show the temple had a revenue of Rs 66.76 crore during the last fiscal.
Coming a distant second in terms of revenue is the Male Mahadeshwara temple in Chamarajanagar district with an estimated revenue of Rs 31 crore. Kollur’s Sri Mookambika temple, in Udupi district, is the third richest with an estimated revenue of Rs 20 crore. Revenue figures for the Male Mahadeshwara and Sri Mookambika temples could be slightly more after final auditing.
Between 2007 and 2010, the Kukke temple grossed Rs 91.75 crore by way of revenue. This spurt in revenue is remarkable given the temple’s income – Rs 24.3 crore during 2007-08 – reached Rs 35.75 crore during 2009-10. This leapfrogged to Rs 44.82 crore during 2010-11, and touched an all-time high of Rs 56.24 crore during 2011-12. The audited figures for 2012-13 put this figure at Rs 66.76 crore.
Th e Kukke temple gets high-profile visitors. Sarpa samskara, ashlesha bali, sesha seve and naga pra8tishte are the most sou8ght-after rituals at the tem8ple. Devotees have to book some rituals in advance.
Krishna Prasad Madthila, president of the temple management committee, says the temple on an average receives 15,000-20,000 foot falls daily. %This goes up during wee8kends and on ‘Ashlesha nakshatra’ and ‘Shudda shasti’. The temple expe8nds a major part of its revenues on providing amenities to pilgrims as per a master plan.
The Rs 180-crore master plan is being taken up in phases, says executive officer SS Kale.
