VIRUDHUNAGAR: It’s quite a trek to reach the famous Sundara Mahalingam Swamy Temple situated on top of the Sathuragiri Hills, with the fear of flash floods only adding to the woes. But it won’t be an uphill struggle for the devotees in near future, according to HR&CE officials, as walking the long and tiring distance will be made easier with the likely coming of seven steel bridges across streams along the 7-km trekking path which will also keep the fear of potential flash floods at bay.
Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) officials told TNIE that forest clearance for the project is in its final stages and once approved it will pave the way for the construction to begin.
M Karthik, Joint Commissioner, HR&CE, told TNIE that they anticipate the clearance process to be completed within one or two months.
“Once we receive the clearance, bridge construction will commence and is expected to be completed within six to nine months. The bridges will be able to withstand heavy rainfall and animal movement,” he said.
The temple is accessible via three trekking entry points from the foothills of Sathuragiri – Thaniparai in Virudhunagar district which involves a seven-km trek, Valaithoppu in Madurai (four and a half-km trek) and Varusanadu in Theni (14-km trek). Along the way, the devotees have to cross seven streams to reach the temple.
On regular days, water in these streams is about one to one-and-a-half feet deep. But during heavy rain, it can rise up to seven feet, causing flash floods that may take at least two days to subside.
Official data reveal that since 2012 there have been at least 18 flash flood incidents in the streams which had left 11,740 devotees stranded and resulted in the deaths of 10 pilgrims. The most devastating incident occurred in 2015, when eight devotees died in a sudden flood.
“In response, authorities put a cap on pilgrimages to four days a month – on new moon, full moon, and ‘pradosham’ days – and imposed additional restrictions based on weather forecasts. Still, sudden unseasonal rain continues to pose a challenge,” an HR & CE official said.
“Besides devotees, many tourists also visit the temple, and there is a sense of fear among the trekkers because of flash flood incidents. There has been a long-standing demand for a safe pathway for them during the climb,” said B Kandhasamy, a devotee from Rajapalayam.
To mitigate such risks, the HR&CE department had proposed building steel bridges across the vulnerable stretches.
During the 2022-23 state Assembly session, Chief Minister MK Stalin announced a `9-crore allocation for infrastructure improvement at Sathuragiri, located within the Saptur Reserve Forest, including the construction of the bridges to prevent flash flood tragedies.
Following this announcement, tenders were floated and HR&CE officials sought forest clearance from the state government, and wildlife clearance from the Union ministry.
“Of the seven streams, four – including Palamarathu Karuppasamy odai , Vellai paraai odai and Sundaramahalingam temple odai– are under HR&CE’s jurisdiction, while the remaining three – Mangani odai, Ezhumbu odai and Sangilikaruppu odai- are under the control of the forest department,” the official added.
In addition to the bridges, five handrails will also be installed along the steep stretches to assist devotees during the climb.