
Pongal celebration brings festive mood to ATR elephant camps
The Hindu
Anamalai Tiger Reserve (ATR) celebrated ‘elephant Pongal’ at Kozhikamuthi and Varagaliyar elephant camps, near Top Slip, in the presence of Forest Department staff, residents from tribal settlements a
Anamalai Tiger Reserve (ATR) celebrated ‘elephant Pongal’ at Kozhikamuthi and Varagaliyar elephant camps, near Top Slip, in the presence of Forest Department staff, residents from tribal settlements and tourists on Saturday.
The celebrations at Kozhikamuthi camp, where 24 camp elephants are sheltered, started with puja and preparation of Pongal as per tradition.

In , the grape capital of India and host of the Simhastha Kumbh Mela every 12 years, environmental concerns over a plan to cut 1,800 trees for the proposed Sadhugram project in the historic Tapovan area have sharpened political fault lines ahead of local body elections. The issue has pitted both Sena factions against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which leads the ruling Mahayuti alliance in Maharashtra. While Eknath Shinde, Deputy Chief Minister and Shiv Sena chief, and Uddhav Thackeray, chief of the Shiv Sena (UBT), remain political rivals, their parties have found rare common ground in Tapovan, where authorities propose clearing trees across 34 acres to build Sadhugram and a MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions) hub, as part of a ₹300-crore infrastructure push linked to the pilgrimage.












