COIMBATORE: A 31-year-old Tiruppur native who was injured last week after falling while descending the Velliangiri hills died on Monday evening.
The deceased B Veera Kumar belonged to SV Colony in Tirupur district. He was injured at the seventh hill while returning to the foothill after visiting the hilltop Temple on Thursday evening.
He was undergoing treatment at Coimbatore Medical College and Hospital (CMCH) for the last few days but died without responding to treatment.
After sustaining injuries, Veera Kumar was taken to the Velliangiri foothill on a dolly and then taken to the Primary Health Centre at Poolvapatti. After first aid, he was shifted to CMCH for further treatment. He died at 3.15 pm on Monday.
Eight devotees who took the arduous trek to the Velliangiri hills have died since February 25 due to various reasons, said sources.
The number of devotees is expected to fall from this week as Sivarathiri festival was over earlier and Sitra Pournami was marked on Tuesday, an official said.
“More pilgrims visited this year compared to last year. It is estimated two lakh people had arrived last year and this year the number exceeded it. The number of deaths of devotees declined in the last one month as most of them aware about the terrain and several refrained from visiting the hill following awareness through media,” said the official
The forest department officials are also monitoring the devotees using drones in order to reduce chances of wildfire.
Over 2 lakh devotees visited the hill
An official said the number of pilgrims in Velliangiri has exceeded 2 lakh this time. “The number of deaths of devotees declined in the last one month as most of them are aware about the terrain,” he said