As fire was noticed on Sathuragiri hills in Madurai district on Tuesday evening, the administration has banned devotees to climb up the hills for Aadi Amavasai.
No devotee would be allowed to climb up Sathuragiri hills on Wednesday for the second day, as fresh forest fire was noticed late on Tuesday evening.
Madurai Collector, Nishant Krishna, said that devotees would not be allowed to trek on the hilly terrain on Wednesday on the occasion of Aadi Amavasai till normality returned considering the danger to their life and safety.
The Collector added that the forest fire was being closely monitored and devotees would be permitted to climb up the hills once the fire was put out.
The Collector said that ban was ordered after Madurai Superintendent of Police, N. Devanathan, brought to his attention the return of forest fire noticed at around 7 p.m.
Though efforts were under way to put out the flames, considering the danger posed to the life and safety of the devotees, their entry is banned on Wednesday, he said.
Earlier, in the evening, the Collector had announced permitting the members of public and devotees to climb up the Sathuragiri hills, bordering Madurai and Virudhunagar districts through Thaniparai foothills in Virudhunagar district, on Wednesday, as forest officials had intimated about having put out the fire.
Published – August 11, 2026 09:09 pm IST
