Tamil Nadu: Plans afoot for new pathway through Velliangiri Hills

COIMBATORE: Hindu Religious & Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) minister P K Sekar Babu inspected the Velliangiri Hills, also known as seven hills, on Sunday to explore the option of creating a pathway to facilitate pilgrimage. He was accompanied by HR&CE officials and forest frontline staff.
Stating that it was a long-pending demand from the devotees of Velliangiri Andavar Temple from across the country, the minister said an expert committee would be formed to study the feasibility of setting up the pathway and 1 crore would be allotted for the same and related work.
Forest officials and environmentalists, however, said such developmental activities in the reserve forest would affect the wildlife.
It was during the assembly sessions that the minister for the first time unveiled the plans to set up pathways to the temples atop Velliangiri Hills in Coimbatore, Sathuragiri Hills in Madurai district, Parvathamalai and Sampathgiri Hills at Polur in Thiruvannamalai district and Vannathipara on TN-Kerala border in Theni district.
On Sunday, Sekar Babu climbed atop the seven hills to inspect the existing pathway to the Velliangiri Andavar Temple.
Usually, more than one lakh devotees visit the temple from March to May every year. Devotees trek the hills to offer prayers at the temple that is situated on the seventh hill. But there is no proper pathway to reach the temple. HR&CE department’s effort to create the pathway would help the devotees, a source said.
Earlier in the day, Sekar Babu inspected the Poondi Velliangiri Temple at the foothills of Velliangiri and offered prayers. He also interacted with the devotees and HR&CE officials.
K Kalidasan, president, OSAI, an NGO, said the Velliangiri Hills was an ecologically sensitive area. “Many environmentalists are demanding the state government to declare Velliangiri as a wildlife sanctuary. This forest is one of the undisturbed areas in Tamil Nadu. The study of flora and fauna in the forest is yet to be completed. It is home to tigers, leopards, elephants and other wild animals. So, the government should not disturb the reserve forest in the name of creating pathways.”
He urged the government to put a cap on the number of devotees visiting the temple. “The government should come forward to save the forests. If it starts any developmental activities, it will affect the entire wildlife in the locality.”