DyCM Ashwath Narayan takes officials to task for permitting Ramanagara fair

Ramanagara: Deputy Chief Minister and Ramanagara district in-charge minister Dr C N Ashwath Narayana took officials to task and has sought a detailed report from the deputy commissioner after footage of a temple fair in the district held on Thursday went viral on the social media platform.

The panchayat development officer was also suspended for permitting the gathering outside a temple in Kolagondanahalli village of Ramanagara for a fair.

Visuals of hundreds of people gathering outside the temple in the village along with a crowded procession in the wee hours of Thursday went viral, drawing flak. The Ramanagara police filed cases against the temple priest and the festival’s organizers.

Speaking with this regard Ashwath Narayan said, “Action will be taken against all those responsible for the gathering. The panchayat officer has already been suspended but what about other officials? What were they doing instead of stopping it?.”

Meanwhile, former chief minister H D Kumaraswamy and Congress’ D K Shivakumar, who raised a hue and cry over government’s decision to lodge the accused from a Covid-19 containment zone in Bengaluru in Ramanagara jail, chose to maintain a stoic silence over the temple fair, informed sources.