Taking cognizance of the prevailing pandemic and the imperatives of avoiding crowding, the authorities have banned public participation in the annual temple fair at Beladakuppe in Hediyala range of Bandipur Tiger Reserve.
The Forest Department had made a strong case for ban on public participation in the Beladakuppe Mahadeshwara temple jathra, which is scheduled to be held between December 13 and 16 in view of COVID-19 and to minimise disturbance to wildlife.
After assessing the prevailing conditions, Deputy Commissioner Rohini Sindhuri passed a directive banning the entry of people to the temple located inside the core area of the tiger reserve.
However, the temple priests and the temple committee members have been permitted to conduct rituals within the inner precincts of the temple, the Deputy Commissioner’s directive said.
The department had argued that the pandemic and the imperatives of maintaining social distancing were reason enough to ban the entry of public to the temple. They also pointed out that even the Mysuru Dasara celebrations had been reduced to a symbolic affair while there are stringent restrictions in place even for the Panchalinga Darshana to be held from December 10 to 19 at Talakadu.
The temple fair inside the core area of a tiger reserve is fraught with danger for both humans and wildlife and Hediyala is already an epicentre for human-animal conflicts.
Activists have argued that allowing the temple fair without reducing its scope will only aggravate the conflict. The jathra was not a major event till a few years ago but has gained in popularity over the years. So much so that despite restriction on the movement of private vehicles, scores of buses were pressed into service to transport the local villagers while stage events and use of loudspeaker became the norm.
Besides, make-shift kitchen was used to prepare food to cater to the visiting devotees. The leftovers would draw the animals and the change in dietary pattern and loss of fear of humans would only draw them closer to villages aggravating the conflict situation besides rendering the animals susceptible to be poached.
Assistant Conservator of Forests of Hediyala range Ravi Kumar said earlier the congregation used to be confined to the annual jathra but in recent years the temple is beginning to draw people on all days considered auspicious as per the almanac.
Though efforts were made to secure the consent of all stakeholders to relocate the temple, it has not yielded any results so far. But activists are relieved that there is a reprieve for the wildlife this year and hope to find a permanent solution before the next year’s event.
