The forest department has started a unique campaign of creating awareness on single use plastic, forest fire and elephant movements to the devotees who walk to Dharmasthala from various destinations on account of Mahashivarathri.
DCF Dr Dinesh Kumar said that the devotees walk on three main roads—Charmadi-Dharmasthala, covering 40-km stretch (with 25-km inside the roads surrounding forest), Shiradi-Gundya-Periyashanthi-Dharmasthala, covering 50-km stretch with 35-km in forest fhat, and Bisile -Subrahmanya-Periyashanthi-Dharmasthala covering 45-km stretch with 30-km in the forest ghat.
Around two to three lakh devotees are expected during the Shivarathri celebrations.
The department with the help of 150 volunteers along with 100 department staff from DCF, ACF, RFOs, and other staff have started roadside cleaning as a part of the four-day awareness campaign from Sunday.
Awareness will be created on the movement of elephants in the dark for those who walk at night.
The DCF said that the forest department has installed dustbins at every 200 metres, stalls at every 1-km with drinking water facility for the devotees in the entire forest stretches of three routes. There will be three volunteers and two department staff at each stall to guide devotees and supply drinking water. The staff from the entire forest division are posted to these three routes on rotation basis. They will be working round the clock till March 2.
“This is the first time that the forest department has taken such an initiative to create an awareness programme on three aspects,” said the DCF who was stationed at Gundya to oversee the implementation of the awareness programme.
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