President to inaugurate Mahamasthabhisheka in Shravanabelagola

Shravanabelagola: The most awaited Bahubali Masthakabhisheka celebration will be inaugurated today by President Ram Nath Kovind in the pilgrim town in Hassan District.

The president is said to fly in a chopper from Bengaluru today to flag off the celebrations of the Bahubali Gomateshwara statue. Lakhs of people from across the country will visit Shravanabelagola to take part in the festival which is held once in 12 years to anoint the gigantic statue of Bahubali.

The president will inaugurate the fest today but the actual anointing will take place on February 17. The festival will be celebrated for 18 days from February 7 to 25, with various Jain rituals held for the first nine days and the anointing ceremony taking place from February 17 to 25.

According to officials, about 2.25 lakh people are expected to visit the town for the mega Jain observance. The estimated cost for the celebration is of Rs 175 crore.

Highly structured security arrangements have been made with thousands of pilgrims visiting the town, said Karnataka Director General of Police Neelamani Raju, adding CCTV cameras and hundreds of policemen would be deployed to monitor the crowds. Traffic rearrangements are also made in the town for the duration. The last Mahamastakabhisheka took place 12 years back in 2006.