Over 500 devotees who were atop Sathuragiri hills were asked to remain at Sundaramahalingam Temple and not allowed to climb down following heavy downpour on Sunday evening.
Virudhunagar Superintendent of Police S. Maheswaran said that number of people climbing up the hill from Thaniparai was very thin — around 800. Many of them had reached the foothills when the rain started by 3 p.m.
Only when the rain subsided, the devotees were allowed to climb down. All of them reached Thaniparai safely. Only a handful of temple staff were staying at the temple. The devotees would be allowed till Wednesday.