Muslim traders against curbs on stalls at temples

NT Correspondent

Mangaluru: Muslim traders in Dakshina Kannada district have alleged that the state endowment departmentadministered Kudupu Anantapadmanabha temple here was not allotting stalls to vendors belonging to the minority community.

Stalls are coming up in the premises of the temple for the six-day 'Shasti Mahotsava' that begins on December 14.

In a memorandum to the Dakshina Kannada (DK) deputy commissioner Mullai Muhilan on Thursday, the president of the forum of Muslim traders B K Imtiyaz said a group threatened the temple authorities that there would be a disturbance if stalls were allotted to Muslim traders.

After the threat came, the temple authorities did not allot stalls to Muslim vendors, he alleged. He asked the district administration to intervene and permit poor Muslim traders to eke out a living by selling their items in the stalls during the sixday fair.

Additional deputy commissioner Santosh Kumar, who received the memorandum, said he has sought a report from the temple authorities on the issue.