Southern States - Pondicherry

Concern over fast depletion of forest cover in Pondy

By Deepa H. Ramakrishnan

PONDICHERRY JUNE 4. Like autumn leaves, plastic materials are littered around the beautiful sacred grove of the Manjaneeswarar Ayyanar temple in Puthupet or Puthupattu near Pondicherry. The 25-acre grove is one of the South India's fast vanishing tropical dry evergreen forests (TDEFs). The evergreen forests are usually found in the coastal regions and the trees can bear the brunt of even the worst cyclone as their leaves are thick and the trunks are buttressed. This type of forest is found only in South India and Sri Lanka and it provides a rare biological richness. But it is now close to extinction as only 0.01 per cent survives. Only a few isolated fragments of TDEFs exist and many of the 200-odd species of trees, shrubs and lianas listed by Meher-Homji (1989) are on the verge of extinction.

The grove has a story behind it. Bhasmasura, an asura who had received a boon from Shiva that anyone that he touches would turn into ash. And to test that boon the rakshasa tried on Shiva. To save himself, Shiva hid inside the seed of an Ivelan maram (diplocyclos palmatus) in the Ivelankaadu, which is presently known as Puthupattu. Vishnu, who came in the form of Mohini saved Shiva. From Mohini and Shiva the deity of the temple Ayyanar was said to have born in the very grove.

In an effort to protect and restore the forests, Auroville's environment initiative, along with Foundation for Revitalisation of Local Health Traditions of Bangalore, took up a project to save what remained of the forest, according to Joss Brooks, who has been working with the Auroville for more than 30 years now.

Of late, devotees who come to the temple in large numbers, have been throwing plastic cups and other items.

Pandurangan, the temple trustee, says though the temple is willing to clean the area, the authorities cannot afford to spend on maintaining the place.

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