Kerala Govt. fails to provide basic facilities for Sabrimala pilgrimage

Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala): Sabarimala temple opened for the annual pilgrimage on Tuesday evening. The pilgrimage,considered only second to Haj in terms of numbers, brings over Rs 125 crore in revenue to the state kitty every year.However, the facilities at the shrine have failed to keep pace with the swelling number of devotees.

After chairing a review committee meeting in Pamba on Monday, chief minister V S Achutanandan assured that all preparations had been completed for the smooth conduct of the pilgrimage. His words were met with angry sloganeering by activists of the BJPs youth wing Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha who alleged that the government had done little to improve the sanitation facilities at Sabarimala.

While the Travancore Devasom Board claims a total of 300 toilets in and around Pamba,where the navigable route ends,devotees point out the storage facilities are grossly inadequate.

The septic tanks are filled up in a matter of days and the waste is then dumped into the river,posing serious health hazards to the pilgrims. The toilets are auctioned during every season and the contractor who gets it charges indiscriminately from the pilgrims. We are of the view that all basic facilites including food and toilet facilites should be provided free of cost to the pilgrims. Also the government should expedite the setting up of a sewage treatment plant,the proposal for which was mooted several years ago, said Kummanam Rajasekharan, General Secretary of the Ayyappa Seva Samajam.