Siddhalepa marks 40 years of service to pilgrims during Sri Pada season
With the commencement of the Sri Pada season this Unduwap Poya, December 3rd, Siddhalepa ( Hettigoda Group) marks the 40th year of service to devotees trekking up the sacred mountain of Sri Pada, to pay homage to the sacred foot imprint of the Lord Buddha, which enshrines the peak.
A Siddhalepa team is on duty night and day, throughout the season which ends with Vesak Poya playing a “healing role” to approximately 15 lakhs of pilgrims facilitating a peaceful and comfortable journey for them on their most sacred pilgrimage to the mountain peak.
As the country’s leading Ayurveda Group, Siddhalepa’s service of extending their medical assistance to Sri Pada pilgrims was originated by the founder and Chairman of Siddhalepa ( Hettigoda Group) Deshabandu, Dr. Victor Hettigoda and over the years has grown into a large scale operation centred around Gangulathenna about 1 ½ km up the sacred mountain.
This year the company ensured that all polythene wrapping on their products is substituted with degrada- ble polythene. To create further awareness and participation in environment protection among pilgrims at the site, the company has introduced some innovative practices to dispose of waste.
For example devotees can collect fifty cents per empty bottle for any Siddhalepa products purchased on site, thus encouraging them not to throw away plastic waste on the holy site. Devotees are also offered a free Siddhalepa toffee for every four toffee covers they produce at the Siddhalepa products stall at Gangulathenna.
Taking their environment protection on site a step further this season, special workers have been assigned to clear litter from Siddhalepa empty bottles, wrappers etc along t he pat h f rom Nallathanniya to the holy peak.
This year the Group/company has fulfilled another need on the holy site by building changing rooms for women devotees in the three places on the way to the top where Siddhalepa has built water spouts for devotees to have a bath and cleanse themselves before they reach the holy peak.
The full range of Siddhalepa pharmaceuticals and oral and health care products are available for sale at the Gangulathenna hall. Siddhalepa is an ISO certified company with ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 22000, HACCP, GMP SLS certifications for food hygiene and cosmetics and OHSAS 18001.
Preserving the traditions of an ancient medical practice and the reverence of a Buddhist culture, Siddhalepa ( Hettigoda Group) has spread their message of healing through traditional medicine to a country of devotees who set out to pay homage to the sacred footprint of the Lord Buddha as an annual pilgrimage.