Tourist entry barred at Mullayyanagiri, Baba Budangiri for a wee from December 22

CHIKKAMAGALUR: If you are planning to head to some of the popular tourist destinations for the yearend, watch out. The Mullayyanagiri peak and nearby places will be out of bounds for visitors from December 22 to 27.

The district administration has imposed the curbs in view of the Datta Jayanti celebrations at Baba Budangiri Datta Peetha which will be held from December 17 to 26.

Anticipating heavy traffic of Datta Mala devotees and tourists, the district administration has banned tourist entry for six days at Seetalayyanagiri, Mullayyanagiri, Datta Peetha, Manikyadhara Falls, Gali Kere and other tourist spots in the Western Ghats. The road leading to Datta Peetha is quite narrow and cannot accommodate more vehicles.

On December 24, thousands of women will take out a massive procession and participate in rituals as part of Anusuya Jayanti. The next day, over 20,000 Datta devotees and citizens will take part in the Shobha Yatra. On December 26, about 30,000 devotees are expected to arrive at Datta Peetha for the Datta Jayanti celebration.