Boulders blocking pathway on Sathuragiri hills pose threat to safety of devotees

Devotees are looking up to the Forest Department officials to remove huge boulders which have fallen on the pathway on Sathuragiri hills ahead of ‘Adi Amavasai’ festival beginning on August 1.

Devotees are looking up to the Forest Department officials to remove huge boulders , if not parts of them, which have fallen on the pathway on Sathuragiri hills ahead of ‘Aadi Amavasai’ festival beginning on August 1.

The boulders were washed away by flash floods in 2022 and they block the pathway at at least four places along the six-km-long stretch between Thaniparai and Sundaramahalingam Temple on the hilltop. The obstructions near Pasuthadam are the worst.

Scores of devotees climb up the hill during ‘Amavasai’ and ‘Pournami’ every month. “The boulders are causing severe inconvenience to them as they have blocked a considerable portion of the trekking pathway,” said one of the devotees.

While the devotees can climb up and down simultaneously on the narrow pathway, the boulders further narrow down it. “When a group of devotees are climbing up, those coming down will have to wait for them to cross those spots,” he added.

This did not cause a major impediment during normal times. But, during ‘Aadi Amavasai’ festival, thousands of devotees would throng the hilltop temple.

“With the restriction on overnight stay at the temple, the devotees are forced to climb down during daytime. With limited time for the devotees to climb up and down, the obstructions could lead to unnecessary delay. Those obstructions also pose a threat of their safety, as they will try to compete with one another to cross the spots,” he added.

The temple authorities claimed that they had no right to mend the pathway. “The Forest Department is the custodian of the reserve forest area and it has given only the right of way to the temple,” one of them said.