Cleaning up Velliangiri Hills
Isha Yoga Centre distributed about 13,500 cloth bags to devotees thronging the Velliangiri Andavar Temple on Saturday as a part of its ‘Clean Up’ campaign. The bags, sponsored by Life Insurance Corporation of India, would help create awareness among the pilgrims visiting the temple on the need to say ‘no’ to plastics, a release said.Isha Yoga Centre had been working in collaboration with temple and forest officials for six years to clear the hills of plasticsThe seven hills of the Velliangiri mountains received visitors in hundreds during the pilgrimage season (between Mahashivrathri and Chitiraipournami) every year. The trek began at the Arulmigu Velliangiri Andavar Temple in Poondi and ended at the seventh hill (1,800 metres in all). Located in the Nilgiris biosphere, these hills were now littered with plastic bags, cups, and containers strewn by pilgrims. These discarded plastics had choked the waterways and posed a threat to wildlife.
Isha Yoga Centre had been working in collaboration with temple and forest officials for six years to clear the hills of plastics, to provide cloth bags to pilgrims, and to educate them about biodegradable alternatives to plastic. The inauguration of the campaign was attended by P.R. Rajmohan, officer, Arulmigu Velliangiri Andavar temple, I. Anwardin, District Forest Officer, Coimbatore, and A. Sadhanandam, president, Ikkarai Boluvampatti panchayat.
