Forest dept increases vigilance at Bhimashankar Sanctuary in Pune

Ahead of ‘Shravan,’ the forest department has increased vigilance at the Bhimashankar Sanctuary, as thousands of devotees will start visiting the vicinity from August 5 onwards.

Bhimashankar is an ancient shrine in the Sahyadri Hills and the temple here houses one of the twelve Jyotirlingas in India.

The temple is surrounded by dense forest and several waterfalls, so, the forest department has increased vigilance in the area to keep a check on waste management and the safety of tourists, said officials.

Tushar Chavan, deputy conservator of forest (wildlife), Pune division, said, “We have started preparations and will keep our staff ready. While the temple management responsibility is primarily with the temple trust, the forest department has responsibilities to manage the surrounding area and the sanctuary.”

“Our main focus will be people’s safety as well as waste management and we have deployed additional staff for this,” he said.

Vasant Chavan, range forest officer, Bhimashankar Sanctuary, said, “Just like last year, this year too we will be deploying 10 teams including forest staff as well as local volunteers. Among which, six teams will be working on waste and other management issues and four will be working on tourist safety.”

“Additionally, visitors this year will be able to see Mahadev van, which was recently inaugurated by Pune forest department,” said Chavan.