Sabarimala pilgrimage preparations face delays as deadline nears

With barely two months left for the Mandala Makaravilakku season, authorities are racing against time as several key works remain stalled, raising concerns that Sabarimala could once again see a last-minute rush to ready the pilgrimage centre.

A section of Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) employees and devotee organisations have flagged the slow progress of preparations ranging from sanitation and roads to facilities at edathavalams (stopover points) and other essential infrastructure. They have urged the government and TDB to accelerate the work, warning that the shrinking window leaves little room for further slippage. At Sannidhanam, concerns are also being raised over the availability of aravana containers and flip lids.

“Local bodies in Chengannur, Pandalam and Kulanada all receive funds connected with the pilgrimage, but the delayed release of funds affects sanitation and other preparations,” said D. Vijayakumar, national secretary, Akhila Bharata Ayyappa Seva Sanghom. “The recruitment of Vishuddhi Sena personnel should also be completed early to begin clean up operations in time,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Thiruvabharana Patha Samrakshana Samithi has said continuing differences between the State government and the TDB were hampering the progress of the projects. It has also flagged delays in tender procedures for several road works and called for immediate improvement of service roads.

The warning comes days after the Travancore Devaswom Employees Front, representing temple workers under the TDB, similarly raised concerns over the pace of preparations. It said critical tendering processes and on ground arrangements were progressing sluggishly and cautioned that poor crowd management or inadequate infrastructure could cause a fall in revenue and deal a severe financial blow to the Board.

The TDB, however, has dismissed the concerns, maintaining that preparations are progressing as planned. “Plans are afoot for a comprehensive sanitation network at the pilgrimage zone by introducing mechanised cleaning systems in places such as Lower Thirumuttom, as also to establish a network of 300 modern toilets in uniform designs along the trek path,” a TDB spokesperson said.

The Board has also introduced a uniform design for shops within the pilgrimage zone to reduce waste generation. Tenders for auctioning the spaces are expected to be floated within a day or two, while tenders for essential supplies such as jaggery are also being initiated.

At edathavalams, plans are being prepared to provide shelters for pilgrims. “The works to implement them will begin in the right earnest. The only delay, as of now, is with regard to holding coordination meetings with the local legislators concerned, but that is only due to a clash of dates,” the official said.

Crowd management

Official sources, however, said the AI assisted crowd management system announced earlier may take longer to implement. “Since crowd management is a subject of the police, a full scale implementation of this system can be done only after due discussions with the police department. So, this is most likely to take some time,” an official said.

The board has also raised concerns over the efficacy of Vishuddhi Sena, the cleaning workforce brought in from Tamil Nadu every year to maintain cleanliness at the pilgrimage centre and its surroundings. “The system, of course, is outdated and we are looking for alternatives. The implementation of an alternative system is slated to begin in the upcoming season itself,” the official added.