The permission granted to devotees to participate for two days, Wednesday and Thursday (Aug. 12, 13), in the Aadi Amavasai worship held at the Sathuragiri Sundaramahalinga Swamy Temple has been revoked again.
The Sathuragiri Sundaramahalinga Swamy Temple is located in the hill area of Saaptur village, within Peraiyur taluk in Madurai district. At this temple, the Aadi Pradosham and Aadi Amavasai rituals are usually held every year for four days.
Tens of thousands of devotees from various parts of Tamil Nadu will participate. Accordingly, in connection with this year’s Aadi Amavasai and Pradosham worship, devotees were permitted to visit the Chathuragiri Sundara Mahalinga Swamy Temple for worship from Aug. 10 to Aug. 13.
Meanwhile, a severe forest fire spread on Monday in the mountain regions of Saptur and Watrap, where the Chathuragiri Sundara Mahalinga Temple is located.
As a result, the district administrations of Madurai, Virudhunagar, and Theni announced on Monday (Aug. 10) that devotees would not be allowed to go for Aadi Amavasai worship at the Chathuragiri temple.
Efforts to control the fire that spread in the hill area were carried out intensively. On Tuesday early morning, the forest department fully brought the fire under control.
Following this, the Madurai and Virudhunagar district collectors had said on Tuesday that devotees would be permitted to take part in the Aadi Amavasai worship at the Sathuragiri Sundara Mahalingaswamy Temple on both Wednesday and Thursday (Aug. 12, 13), and that those going to the temple must travel only via Thaniparai.
Permission canceled again... In this situation, reports emerged that around 7 p.m. on Tuesday, fire had spread again in the Sathuragiri hill area, and that intensive measures were being taken to control it.
Following this, Madurai District Collector Nishant Krishna and Virudhunagar District Collector N.O. Sugaputhra said that, in the interest of public and devotees’ safety, devotees will not be permitted to visit the Chathuragiri Sundara Mahalingaswamy Temple on Aug. 12. They also said that an announcement will be made regarding the granting of permission to devotees once the situation returns to normal.