Parikara pooja brings curtains down on Deepam fest

TIRUVANNAMALAI: Priests of Arulmigu Arunachaleswarar Temple in Tiruvannamalai performed ‘parikara poojas’ atop the 2,668-foot high Annamalai hill to mark the end of the annual Karthigai Deepam festival, on Wednesday.

After the ritual, nearly 20 volunteers and members of an NGO trekked to the hilltop and removed the accumulated garbage on Thursday.

The volunteers along with the support of forest officials collected nearly one tonne of garbage, including ghee tins and plastics. Tins and plastic bottles were flattened and crushed before being brought down the hill with other garbage. Sources revealed that the tins were dumped in crevices in the rocks and bushes when the flame was alive. “We had to search all nearby crevices and holes in the rocks to remove such tins,” a volunteer said. Asked why the tins were not disposed in a specific place, an official on condition of anonymity revealed that it would not be possible due to the lack of space atop the hill.

“As 5 tonnes of ghee is used to keep the Deepam alive for over 11 days, you can calculate the number of tins, each weighing 15 kg, that would be required. The tins are sealed in the temple before being taken to the top and used for the Deepam,” the official added.

“If one tonne of garbage accumulated at the hilltop when the public were allowed to climb the hill only after tough screening, imagine how the spot would have looked if there was no regulation,” a forest official said.