Forest Department Puts up Stalls on Roads Leading to Dharmasthala on Account of Shivaratri: Good Move

On account of Mahashivaratri, thousands of devotees are visiting Shri Kshetra Dharmasthala. For the first time the Dakshina Kannada forest department have set up stall on the roads leading to Dharmasthala, to closely monitoring the devotees and stop them from dumping trash on the forest stretch or on the roadside. The temple authorities are expecting the arrival of at least three lakh devotees from across the state and of them nearly 90% travel on foot.

The devotees tend to throw plastic water bottles and food packets on the roadside or in forest areas. The forest department has put up stalls on prominent roads leading to Dharmasthala in order to spread awareness. The department has identified three main stretches leading to Dharmasthala including Charmadi – Dharmasthala, Shiradi – Gundya and Periyashanthi – Dharmasthala and Bisle – Subramanya – Periyashanthi – Dharmasthala.

The four day awareness drive was launched on Sunday. The department has installed dustbins 200 metres apart and have put up 30 stalls with drinking water on these stretches. The devotees are also being informed about elephant movement. Staff from the entire forest will be working round the clock in shifts from Sunday to March 2.