Tiger authority order goes unheeded: Thousands throng temple in Bandipur

Thousands of devotees visited the Mahadeshwara Swami temple at Beladakuppe in Hediyala range of Saragur taluk in the district (under Bandipur tiger reserve) as part of ‘Bheemana Amavasye’ on Sunday.  

This, despite a recommendation by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) to shift festivals and rituals of
the temple out of the core forest area. 

Devotees visiting the temple amid the rising man-animal conflict has raised concerns among wildlife enthusiasts.  

Besides Bheemana Amavasye, thousands take part in the annual jatra mahotsava held on the last Monday of ‘Karthika’ month that falls in December. 

The NTCA had suggested shifting the entire jatra mahotsava out of the core area of the tiger reserve as a permanent solution, in the interest of wildlife conservation and to prevent possible attacks by animals on people. 

However, the authorities concerned have not taken any initiative in this regard. 

On Sunday, the authorities had arranged 11 KSRTC buses (which did around 80 trips) to ferry devotees to the temple. No private vehicles were allowed. 

The route inside the forest had turned slushy due to rains. The wheels of some KSRTC buses got stuck in the slush and devotees had to get down and walk through the forest, inviting danger.  

Nijaguna, a resident of a nearby village, said, “No private vehicles are allowed and the devotees depend on KSRTC buses. More than 25,000 people visited the temple on Sunday. As buses were insufficient, many were seen walking the five-km distance inside the forest,” he said.

As environmentalists have been urging the authorities to prohibit the annual fair at Beladakuppe as it impacts the forest and may pose a threat to animals, the NTCA headquarters in Delhi had written to the regional office in Bengaluru, to conduct a site inspection and submit a report. This was based on the representations by environmentalist Giridhar Kulkarni.   

Accordingly, NTCA’s Bengaluru team visited the temple and submitted a report, suggesting to hand over the administration of the temple to the Hindu religious institutions and charitable endowment department.

“The revenue, muzrai and forest departments should take action to shift the celebrations outside the tiger reserve at the earliest,” Kulkarni said.