1,200 year-old flag post of temple collapses

Udupi, Jul 31: A 51 ft long flag post of 1,200 year-old Sri Mahalingeshwara Temple at Shirva, about 20 km from here broke in two halves and collapsed on Wednesday, July 31.

The flag post, said to have been installed by ancient Hindu sage Sharva, made from wood the 'Bogi' tree snapped due to heavy winds. The upper half of the post got separated from the bottom half and fell on a tin sheet serving as a pandal and inflicted heavy damage to the beams that supported the tin structure. The loss to the temple management was estimated at about Rs. 15 lakh.

No one was injured as the staff of the temple were inside when the mishap occurred. However, the mishap was believed to be a bad omen to the village and the villagers were gripped by a sense of fear.

UNI