After protest, devotees allowed to visit temple inside Satyamangalam Tiger Reserve

Over thousands of people had come for festival at Adi Karuvannarayar temple

Condemning the Forest Department’s refusal to permit them to reach the temple located inside the Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve (STR), devotees staged a protest at Karachikorai forest check-post in Bhavanisagar on Wednesday.

Adi Karuvannarayar temple is located 15 km from the check-post near the Moyar river and members of Uppiliya Naicker community from across the State and from Karnataka used to visit the temple during the annual festival. Since the temple is located in the protected area, permission is required from the Forest Department for visiting it. A committee comprising officials from forest, police and revenue departments met recently and gave permission for the devotees to participate in the festival. 

On Wednesday, thousands of devotees came in over 250 four-wheelers to visit the temple. But till 10 a.m., they were not permitted to enter the forest area and stopped at the check-post. Devotees staged protests and former Bhavanisagar MLA P.L. Sundaram, senior police officials and revenue officials arrived at the spot.