Nelkaje Sri Kalikamba temple to receive new chariot

Karkala: The famous and legendary Nelkaje Sri Kalikamba temple here will be receiving a new chariot on February 17.

The Sri Kalikamba Temple has a history of about eleven centuries.

A few years ago, devotees planned to build a new chariot for the temple and attempts at it accelerated over the past three years.

The wishes of the devotees are now being fulfilled.

The chariot work which began in October 2019 had to be completed last year. However, construction slowed down due to COVID-19 pandemic.

The chariot is being built by ace chariot builder Padmanabha Acharya along with 15 other chariot builders.

Hebbalasu and Kiralbogi trees were utilized in the construction of the chariots. Each of its four wheels is 5.4 feet in height. The chariot will not have any paint coat.

“There was a small chariot in the temple. However, during the divine query session, the proposal for the chariot came up. It was difficult to collect the large sum of money needed for such a large chariot. It was realised due to the cooperation of donors and devotees. The expenses for the chariot could go up to Rs 1 crore. All this is possible by the grace of the god,” said K Kishore, chairman of the Chariot-building Committee.