Villagers from Hireyadachi and Kyatanakere in Haveri district’s Hirekerur clashed violently Thursday over Guddada Durugamma temple management rights ahead of the March 9 annual jatra, injuring 10 and damaging an earthmover.
Hireyadachi residents began constructing a new temple near the Tungabhadra-adjacent shrine when Kyatanakere youth demanded permissions and relocation, escalating verbal disputes into a stone pelting frenzy.
ASP Lakshman Shirakol confirmed a 1999-origin rivalry where both villages claim exclusive rights over gramadevata Durugamma’s worship and administration, repeatedly flaring during festival preparations.
Rattihalli station arrested 10 for questioning while scanning footage identifying stone pelters, deploying heavy forces across villages, and preventing reprisals during heightened communal sensitivities.
The confrontation exemplifies intra-Hindu conflicts fragmenting rural social fabric, where gramadevata custodianship symbolizes ancestral authority, demanding administrative arbitration to restore shared festival traditions.
March 9: urs demands urgent mediation to resolve the construction standoff, ensuring safe celebrations honoring Karnataka’s folk goddess, central to the agrarian community’s spiritual-cultural calendar.
Haveri police detained 10 after Hireyadachi-Kyatanakere stone pelting over Guddada Durugamma temple construction rights, investigating a 25-year dispute, injuring 10 ahead of the March jatra.
