The Karnataka government is taking every measure to make sure the February 2018 Mahamastakabhisheka festival celebration is a grand success as the festival is celebrated only once in 12 years. The government has earmarked ₹575 crore to fund the mega celebration. The festival is held in veneration of a 17.3736 metres (57.000 ft) high statue of the Siddha Bahubali.
Bahubali or Gommateshwara is the second son of Adinatha, the first teerthankara and a revered figure among the Jains. The celebrations include anointing of the 1035-year-old Gommateshwara statue — the largest monolithic statue in the world, standing atop the Vindhyagiri mountain. The celebrations take place over a month. This is the 89th anointing (Mahamastakabhishekam) of Bahubali.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah held the first-ever meeting of the Mahamastakabhisheka festival organising committee on Wednesday at Vidhana Soudha.
Hassan’s minister A Manju said the money would be spent on infrastructure enhancements like road and rail connectivity, sign-boards, arches, etc, to guide the tourists who congregate from various parts of the world.
During the previous Mahamastakabhisheka, which was held in 2006, the government had spent ₹116.66 crore. The government had provided shelter and basic infrastructure to 12 thousand devotees in 400 acres of land.
This time around, CM Siddaramaiah has approved a budget outlay of ₹575 crore for the event and has assured all possible help for the Jain community to successfully conduct the world famous event.
The government will be setting up nearly 25,000 tents over 700 acres of agricultural land acquired from local farmers on a temporary basis.
The state government has also planned to provide rail connectivity to the Shravanabelagola Village. The rail network will be inaugurated in December this year.
