<p>Thousands of devotees thronged Malekal Tirupati Lakshmi Venkataramanaswamy Maha Rathotsava on the outskirts of Arsikere, Hassan district, on Wednesday afternoon.</p>.<p>The car festival that is usually held in the month of Ashada was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The temple management, which felt that if the festival is cancelled for a year, it could not be conducted for the next three years, decided to celebrate it on February 24, in a grand manner.</p>.<p>MLA K M Shivalingegowda participated in the car festival and offered prayers to the deity. He assured to develop it into a tourist spot to attract a large number of devotees to the temple, popularly called as ‘Chikka Tirupati’. KSRTC plied additional buses from various parts of the district to Anekal Tirupati temple. The police had beefed up security measures.</p>
<p>Thousands of devotees thronged Malekal Tirupati Lakshmi Venkataramanaswamy Maha Rathotsava on the outskirts of Arsikere, Hassan district, on Wednesday afternoon.</p>.<p>The car festival that is usually held in the month of Ashada was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The temple management, which felt that if the festival is cancelled for a year, it could not be conducted for the next three years, decided to celebrate it on February 24, in a grand manner.</p>.<p>MLA K M Shivalingegowda participated in the car festival and offered prayers to the deity. He assured to develop it into a tourist spot to attract a large number of devotees to the temple, popularly called as ‘Chikka Tirupati’. KSRTC plied additional buses from various parts of the district to Anekal Tirupati temple. The police had beefed up security measures.</p>