Haveri: Police in Savanur town of Haveri district denied permission for a Ganesh idol immersion procession to pass through the main street on Monday evening, prompting members of the local festival committee to return the idol to the temple after carrying it for nearly 500 metres.
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He said the Muslim community had not raised any objection and alleged that the police were unnecessarily blocking the route and provoking Hindu activists. Mahesh said the committee would convene another meeting in the coming days and push for all Ganapati immersion processions to be allowed through the main street. Officials said the deployment was aimed at maintaining law and order in the area.
The incident occurred at Simpige Galli in Savanur, where the procession had commenced from the Ganesh temple accompanied by traditional cultural troupes. Representatives of various Ganesh committees in the town had also agreed to conduct the immersion processions jointly. However, police objected to the proposed route, citing the presence of a mosque along the main street. Haveri superintendent of police Yashoda Vantagodi held discussions with committee members, but the talks failed to break the deadlock. Despite efforts by police to persuade them, committee members insisted that the procession be allowed to pass through the main street. Committee president Mahesh questioned the restriction, stating that the festival had been celebrated in the town for nearly three decades without caste-based discrimination or any disturbance during immersion processions. Following the standoff, police personnel were deployed near the Ganapati temple as a precautionary measure. Download the TOI App.
The Ganeshotsav committee had earlier convened a meeting and fixed the date for the procession.