Mangalore: People in cities may have to put up with the noise of crackers, which often sends terrified dogs scurrying for cover under tables and chairs in homes, but a temple on the foothills of Western Ghats has imposed an unwritten ban on bursting of crackers near it for fear of disturbing the thousands of bats found in the nearby forests.
Showing uncomoon sensitivity to wildlife, devotees and management of Kolli Sri Durgadevi temple have made sure that no one bursts crackers in its vicinity to protect the bats, which inhabit the trees in 'Devarakadu,' (God's forest) and 'Bavali Bana,' nearby.
Going by zoologists, the bats here belong to the Great Indian Fruit Bat or Indian Flying Fox (Pteropus gigantius) species.
"It has been a tradition here for decades not to burst crackers. But it was in the 1980s that we started to strictly follow the ban after my father, Subbraya Todtillaya and other elders, requested villagers and devotees to give up the practice to ensure that the bats are not disturbed.
We didn't want these bats to leave the forest," says archak, Shankarnarayana Todtillaya of the temple, explaining, "As these bats live on trees near the temple , we believe they are dear to God and it is wrong to disturb them when they are asleep."
A horticulture department employee , Monappa, however, claims the ban was imposed after two individuals injured their hands while trying to light crackers. “People began to believe that the goddess was annoyed when the bats were disturbed.
And since then nobody has dared light firecrackers even during temple festivals or weddings held in its kalyana mantap. Those who want to burst crackers do so at a distance near the Netravathi river," he reveals.
