As part of a very big move to keep thousands of pilgrims safe, the Chamarajanagar district administration has successfully banned night-time trekking to the famous Sri Male Mahadeshwara Hills (MM Hills). The ruling comes after a tragic case in which a 30-year-old worshiper was killed by a leopard during his trek to the shrine.
The Night-Time Restriction
Beginning immediately, devotees are to refrain from trekking in forests for the distance of 6:00 PM-6:00 AM. This limitation is being applied to the sensitive forest between Talabetta and MM Hills which have intensive leopards and wild elephants. The order was made at a high level meeting of the Chamarajanagar District In-charge Minister K. Venkatesh and the District Collector. A.E. Raghu, Secretary of the Sri Male Mahadeshwara Kshetra Development Authority, has implored devotees to join the administration completely to avoid further loss of life.
The Tragic Catalyst
The safety crackdown is triggered by a shocking event on January 21. Praveen, a young man from Chiranahalli village in Mandya district, was trekking to the hills with a group of friends when a leopard suddenly lunged down beside him next to Talabetta. When his friends screamed, attempting to scare the predator away, nothing could keep down the leopard; it plucked Praveen into the thicket of trees in the deep forest. His body was later recovered by the Forest Department and members of the local police force.
Although the Forest Department acted quickly to track down and capture this man-eating leopard shortly after the attack, officials warn that the forest is still an important refuge for many different predators and wild elephants. Staying Vigilant for Pilgrimage Season. The month of January usually has enormous numbers of devotees just prior to Mahashivaratri and other religious festivals.
To control the crowd and avoid encountering wildlife, authorities released:
- No Solo Trekking: Devotees should only venture in large groups during the allowable daylight hours.
- Limiting Timings: There are checkpoints so there is no pilgrim passing through the forest after sunset.
- Forest Guards: Increased patrol of the trekking route by forest guards and police.
An Appeal to Devotees
This has led the MM Hills Development Authority to stress that even though the leopard responsible for the recent death is now behind bars, the threats created by dense forest cannot easily be eliminated. Our supreme concern is for the safety of worshippers.
We urge everyone to plan their time during the day and abide by the advice of the forest and police officials,” a person in charge said. Thousands continued to arrive and chant verses of prayer to seek the blessings of Lord Mahadeshwara and the administration hopes that these measures in advance will help restore a feeling of safety and mitigate future human-animal clashes.
