Devotees banned from climbing Arunachala Hills in Tiruvannamalai on Maha Deepam day

This year, around 50 lakh devotees are expected to visit the temple town of Tiruvannamalai during Karthigai Deepam festival, says Collector.

For the third year in a row, devotees have been banned from climbing the Arunachala Hills near Arunachaleswara temple in Tiruvannamalai on the occasion of Maha Deepam on November 24.

District Collector Vandhana Garg told reporters on Thursday that the ban on climbing the hills on Maha Deepam was decided following forecast for heavy rain. “The decision to prohibit devotees from climbing the hills has been taken to ensure the safety of people’s lives. Around 50 lakh devotees are expected to visit the temple town during Karthigai Deepam festival,” Ms. Garg said.

In 2024, the ban came into force after seven persons, including children, died in a landslip that was triggered by cyclone Fengal in the hills. Following the landslip, an eight-member expert team of the State government, led by Professor K. Premalatha, Head, Centre for Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering, Anna University (Chennai), climbed the 2,668-foot-high hillock with police, forest and revenue officials to assess the condition of the hills. A report was submitted to the State government.

Officials said that safety of climbers was taken into consideration as the terrain on the hills was wet with soil remaining loose due to recent heavy rains after the onset of monsoon.

Revenue officials have issued eviction notices to around 1,400 families in the hills to vacate their houses to ensure their safety. “Relocation of people living in the hills to temporary shelters in the town will be done in the coming weeks, especially after Maha Deepam as heavy rains are expected later this month [November],” said a revenue official.

However, the officials clarified that a group of local fishermen who traditionally light the lamp atop the hills on the Maha Deepam day, as part of the Karthigai Deepam festivities, would be allowed to climb. “The ritual of lighting the lamp atop the hills will continue as per tradition. We will check the special passes issued to them by the Collector to climb the hills on that day,” said a forest official.

The fishermen will carry a cauldron weighing 175 kg; 750 kg of ghee; 10 kg of camphor; and around 300 metres of cotton cloth (as the wick) to light the ‘Kopparai’. The fishermen will be allowed on the traditional route they have been trekking during Maha Deepam day for generations.

In the past, the district administration issued special passes to about 2,500 people to climb the hills on the Maha Deepam day. However, the Forest Department opposed this in the light of the landslip in 2024. At present, the hills are divided into eastern and western parts, spanning over 698.03 hectares. The landslip had occurred on the eastern side of the hills near the pathway where devotees climb the hills.