A Safe And Sound Pilgrimage This Time: Minister Veena George: Health Minister Veena George said that departments should work to make pilgrimages safe and healthy. The Minister was speaking at a meeting held by the Collectorate Conference to assess the preparations related to the Sabarimala Mandal Makaravilak Pilgrimage.
All should work to ensure that pilgrims from different parts of the country reach Sabarimala safely and return. The department heads should ensure that the officers deputed for Sabarimala duty arrive on time. Information about this should also be given in the control room. All the works connected with the pilgrimage should be completed before the 10th of this month. The minister also said that he will make a direct visit on the 11th of this month to check whether the arrangements have been completed.
The minister suggested finding a suitable place for parking KSRTC buses in Pampa. The repair work of Plapalli – Angamoozhi road should be completed by the 10th of this month. Road works should be monitored by Public Works Department officials. Apart from the 17 roads in the district as directed by the High Court, other major roads used by pilgrims should also be repaired. The Public Works Department should ensure crash guards, hump markings, blinkers, and marking on bends on the roads to avoid vehicles.
It was also directed to complete the construction work of the Aratupuzha Chettimuk – Cherukolpuzha road urgently. The National Highways Department should continuously monitor the place where the protection wall is being strengthened at Kaipattur Bridge during the pilgrimage and ensure that there is no danger. This should not cause a traffic jam in Pathanamthitta. The cleaning of Thiruvabharanpatha should be completed in time by the concerned.
To ensure food safety, those working in the restaurants operating on the pilgrimage route should carry a health card. Toll-free numbers of the Food Safety Department should be displayed in all eateries for pilgrims to lodge food-related complaints. The DTPC amenity center at Pandalam itself should be cleaned and made ready for pilgrimage immediately.
A 15-bed Sabarimala ward will be set up at Konni Medical College in conjunction with the pilgrimage. A control room of the health department will be opened at Pampa Govt Hospital. 18 medical centers will be set up on the Pampa-Sannidhanam route. Availability of drugs like anti-venom and anti-rabies vaccines will be ensured. Since it is the post-Covid pilgrimage period, the services of lung and heart doctors have been ensured. The nodal officer should personally assess the arrangements of the health department and report through the DMO. The minister said that all the pilgrims from inside and outside the state who are coming to Sabarimala with health problems should also carry health documents and this will be helpful for treatment in case of emergency.
District Panchayat President Adv. Smaller Sankaran presided.
District Collector Dr. to give wide publicity to the helpline numbers to provide the services of various departments to the pilgrims. Divya S Iyer said. District police chief Swapnil M. said that a traffic scheme has been prepared at the district level. Mahajan informed. There will be three temporary police stations at Sannidhanam, Nilakkal, and Vatasserikkara during the pilgrimage.
DFO Ayush Kumar Khori informed us that eco-guards have been deputed to collect plastic waste on the pilgrimage route. The Uppupara – Sabarimala forest path through which pilgrims pass has been cleared. The azhuta-Pamba road upgrade will be completed in two days.
KSRTC service will start on the 15th of this month in conjunction with the pilgrimage. KSRTC will arrange 10 coupon counters at Pampa Triveni to cater to rush and senior citizens.
The water authority said that the drinking water supply arrangements will be completed on the 10th of this month. Pathanamthitta – Irrigation Department has set up security fences at major jetties at places like Pampa Patha, Pampa Triveni, Aathkovil, Sitathode, and Pandalam. 60 shower units have been arranged for pilgrims at Pampa. The repair work of the electricity department will be completed on the 9th of this month.
Excise range offices will be functioning at Nilakkal, Pampa, and Sannidhanam from the 14th of this month. In addition to the district-level control room, the Tiruvalla and Ranni version of the control room will also be opened. The excise squad will patrol the Pathanamthitta-Pamba route. Aidposts of the Excise Department will be started at Pandalam and Aranmula.
It will also be displayed in restaurants where food prices have been fixed in hotels, the food and public distribution department of the hotel has informed. Gas godowns will be inspected and secured by a joint squad. The Devaswom Board announced that the road work has started at Nilakkal Base Camp and will be completed on the 10th of this month.
The motor vehicle department’s safe zone project will be implemented at Ilavunkal. 20 squads of Safezone will work 24 hours vigilance on Sabarimala paths. In front of the Sanitation Mission, plastic bags will be collected from pilgrims and cloth bags will be distributed instead. Cloth bags will be distributed in Ranni, Laha, and Kanamala under the auspices of Kudumbashree.
DMO(Health) informed that Pampa and Sannidhanam hospitals started functioning on November 1. 300 houses in Sannidhanam and Pampa, 350 in Nilakkal Bays Camp and 50 in Pantalam and Kulanada will be deployed by Sabarimala Sanitation Society headed by District Collector and Adoor RDO Member Secretary.
The emergency operation centers under the disaster management department will start functioning at Nilakkal, Pampa, and Sannidhanam on the 15th of this month. Food security squads will work at Nilakkal, Pampa, and Sannidhanam. Mobile food safety lab will be deployed at Nilakkal.
A toll-free number of the Food Safety Department will be set up for pilgrims to file complaints. BSNL has announced that it will set up 10 more towers to improve mobile coverage. A lifeguard, a life jacket, and a lifebuoy are provided at the main piers in the district where pilgrims arrive. The Panchayat Deputy Director informed that the pilgrims have been provided with facilities to spread out. Pandalam Raja Kottaram representative Narayana Verma, heads of various departments, and others were present.
