Kodagu, KARNATAKA :
Kodagu :
In a stirring tale of social and religious harmony, a group of Hindu and Muslim youths joined hands to clean temples, mosques and other places of worship at a village in Kodagu which have been dirtied by floods.
Hoddur is a small village in Balamuri gram panchayat, about 18km from Madikeri. It was badly affected by the recent incessant rain and floods. About 10 houses were completely damaged while most others developed cracks, officials said.
Due to heavy rain and floods, Kanva Munishwara Temple and Mariamma Temple on the banks of Cauvery river and Balamuri Mosque nearby, were flooded. Water had entered the places of worship, carrying mud, slush and garbage along with it.
When the rain receded, around 50 youths – both Hindus and Muslims – cleaned the temples and mosques together. The water which had entered the temple was pumped out. Suhail MK, 26, a villager from Hoddur who is a driver, told TOI: “Here we live like brothers and help each other in times of trouble. We plan to clean Eshwara temple on Monday.”
Suhail said it’s the first time in 60 years that Madikeri is witnessing such rain havoc. “My father said the last time he saw such rain and flooding was in 1962.”
Charan, a resident of Balamuri, said while they hear of trouble between communities in other parts of the country, in Balamuri all communities live in peace and help each other.
“We cleaned the temples and mosque in a day. We respect each other’s religion and live in peace,” he said.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> News> City News> Mysuru News / by Lakshmikantha BK / TNN / August 19th, 2019