763 sheep, goats recovered from devotees during Mailaralingeshwar temple fair

Animal Husbandry Department auctions seized sheep and goats for ₹18.83 lakh at Mailaralingeshwar temple fair in Yadgir district.

The Animal Husbandry Department has collected ₹18.83 lakh through auctioning sheep and goats seized during the annual fair of the Mailaralingeshwar temple in Mailapur village of Yadgir district on Tuesday.

The department recovered 763 animals at check-posts established on the road leading to the temple as the district administration earlier imposed a ban on hurling live animals on the moving palanquin of Mailaralingeshwar while on the way for a holy dip in a lake.

“As many as 22 people participated in the auction, and of them, seven succeeded in bids and purchased the sheep and goats by collectively paying ₹18.83 lakh,” Deputy Director of the department Raju Deshmukh told The Hindu.

The annual fair of Mailaralingeshwar that began on January 12 will conclude on January 18 as several lakh of devotees from neighbouring Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra and also from different parts of Karnataka participate in the fair.

The priest of the temple broke an iron chain amid chants of “Elu Koti Elu Kotige” to offer prayers to Mailaralingeshwar.

Earlier, the idol of Mailaralingeshwar was brought back to the temple at the hillock after the holy dip in the lake while several thousands of devotees poured bandar (a yellow-colour dry powder) on the palanquin.

Meanwhile, a video that went viral shows a devotee throwing a sheep on the palanquin from a distance, despite the administration imposing a ban on such activities.