The LoP's letter comes in the wake of devotees complaining of mismanagement, lack of crowd control, and facilities for the devotees.
Published Dec 30, 2023 | 4:51 PM ⚊ Updated Dec 30, 2023 | 4:51 PM
Congress leader VD Satheesan. (VD Satheesan/ Facebook)
Leader of the Opposition in the Kerala Assembly VD Satheesan has accused the state government, including the police and the Devaswom Board, of failing to effectively organise the first phase of the Sabarimala pilgrimage.
Satheesan expressed his concerns in a letter addressed to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, urging him to ensure flawless arrangements for devotees during the upcoming Makaravilakku pilgrimage.
The LoP’s letter comes in the wake of devotees complaining of mismanagement, lack of crowd control, and the death of two devotees by drowning.
On Wednesday, two devotees from a group of eight devotees from Tamil Nadu died by drowning in the Pamba river near the Chengannur Mahadeva Temple.
The Lord Ayyappa Temple closed late at night on Wednesday, 27 December, after Mandala Pooja.
Highlighting the alleged failures of various departments during the Mandala season, he said that the state government and the Devaswom Board have miserably failed to provide smooth darshan and basic infrastructure for the pilgrims.
Criticising the government’s handling of the pilgrimage, Satheesan, in his letter, also highlighted the unprecedented challenges faced by devotees.
“It is sad that, for the first time in the history of the most important pilgrimage centre in India, the plight of devotees was such that they were forced to end their pilgrimage halfway with their garlands removed,” the Leader of the Opposition said.
He pointed out instances of extreme laxity in crowd control, with queues stretching for 15 to 20 hours from Pampa to Sannidhanam.
“It was heartbreaking to see children, women, and the elderly queuing up for hours without water or food,” Satheesan alleged.
He called for an immediate end to what he termed the “police raj” and criticised the government’s reluctance to appoint an adequate number of policemen with experience in coordinating operations at Sabarimala.
“The police work at Sabarimala was poor. The government didn’t appoint enough policemen. They were unwilling to deploy experienced officers at Sabarimala, making things worse. There are complaints that the police treated devotees badly and cruelly,” he alleged.
Satheesan concluded his letter by demanding corrective actions, emphasising the need to rectify lapses that occurred during the Mandala Puja season and ensure flawless arrangements for the Makaravilakku pilgrimage.
The Kerala High Court too has taken cognisance of the issue and ordered the TDB to ensure proper facilities for the devotees.
On 25 December, Bench of Justices Anil K Narendran and G Girish held the special sitting taking note of news reports claiming that devotees, including children, were stuck on the roads to Sabarimala for over 12 hours without food or water.
The bench directed the TDB to ensure water, snacks and other facilities are provided at the “Edathavalams”, which are short-term resting places for pilgrims.
It directed the concerned Assistant Commissioners in charge of the Edathavalams/temples to conduct an inspection, forthwith, and submit reports before the Devaswom Commissioner with specific reference to the issues faced by the pilgrims on 24 and 25 December.
“Those reports shall be placed before this court along with an affidavit of the Devaswom Commissioner, explaining the facts and circumstances,” the Bench said.
The court also said that when the Virtual-Q booking reaches 80,000, the number of spot registrations are limited and the footfall at Sannidhanam and Pamba reach their holding capacity, the Chief Police Coordinator has to restrict or even prohibit the entry of pilgrims without any registration or booking.
Despite the Kerala government claiming the situation has been under control, devotees of Lord Ayyappa were facing many hardships, forcing the high court to intervene.
Reports said pilgrims to the hill shrine were made to wait in queues for hours — often even half a day — before they could proceed to the 18 gold-covered holy steps to the temple.
An unprecedented rush of devotees during the annual festival season this year has left both authorities on the ground and the pilgrims frustrated. The arrangements made in advance went for a toss as several pilgrims arrived without booking slots on the Virtual Q, an online system initiated to ensure a smooth pilgrimage.
Authorities tried the Tirupati-model crowd management, but failed as several pilgrims jumped the queue, and took forest routes to Sannidhanam.
TDB President S Prasanth earlier told South First that the temple was now open for almost 17 hours daily. He said extending the operational hours further would be impractical as the priests and employees should have adequate rest.
The bodies of two Sabarimala pilgrims from Chennai, who drowned in the Pamba River, will be transported to their homes at the expense of the Kerala government.
State Cultural Affairs Minister Saji Cheriyan visited the Kayamkulam Taluk hospital where the victims’ bodies were kept and gave instructions to the officials in this regard, an official release said on Thursday, 28 December.
The minister instructed that postmortem procedures be conducted at the hospital, and subsequently, the bodies should be sent home in an ambulance equipped with a mobile mortuary system, all covered by the government’s expense.
According to the police, one person initially drowned, and the other attempted a rescue but both were washed away.
Fireforce personnel promptly arrived at the scene and recovered the bodies.
Minister Cheriyan offered consolation to the remaining group members and provided them with an amount of ₹25,000 for essential expenses.
The temple is scheduled to reopen on the evening of 30 December for the Makaravilakku festivities.
Various rituals, including “prasada shudha kriya” and “bimba shudha kriya,” are planned to be held on 13 and 14 January, preceding the Makaravilakku festival on 15 January, the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB), which manages the hill shrine, has said.
The Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB), the apex temple body which manages the Lord Ayyappa shrine, on Tuesday, 26 December, said that the temple has received ₹204.30 crore as revenue in the last 39 days till 25 December.
(With PTI inputs)
