Vijay Mallya, the owner of near-bankrupt Kingfisher Airlines, donated a carved, gold-plated door to Lord Subrahmanya in a Karnataka temple on Thursday.

Mallya offered the Rs 80-lakh door following rituals at the Subrahmanya temple located in the Western Ghats. The door was donated to the 'Nadu Mantap'. The Subrahmanya temple is of the most admired pilgrimage centres in Karnataka It is frequently visited by the high & mighty in the state.

The temple authorities said this was the second huge donation by Mallya and his family to the temple. Around 12 years back, he had donated a door plated with gold to the sanctum sanctorum of the temple.

Mallya has been going through a rough phase of business life. His flagship carrier Kingfisher is on the verge of closure. So far, the airline has paid out Rs 384 crore in interest, while could generate only Rs 301 crore in earnings.

The airline has not paid salaries to its employees since February this year. In July, its passenger load factor slipped to 53 per cent and strikes by employees forced it to call off flights. Its market share slipped to 3.4 per cent.

United Brewerie, which produced Kingfisher beer, is Mallya’s best business. While United Spirits commands more than 50 per cent market share in the branded spirits market, the firm is burdened with a consolidated net debt of more than Rs 8,000 crore.

May be Mallya now seeks divine intervention to prevail over the persistent challenges in his business.