Minister K. Rajan: About 40 Lakh Pilgrims Are Expected At Sabarimala: Revenue minister K. Rajan said. The minister was speaking at the inauguration of the Sabarimala Sanitation Society at Pampa.
The state government has sanctioned Rs 135.53 crore for the Sabarimala master plan. This time only 30 crore rupees have been sanctioned. All the arrangements for the Sabarimala pilgrimage like fire brigade arrangements, waste treatment plant, and catering facilities for 5000 people at a time have been completed. Therefore, the minister said that arrangements have been made accordingly.
Activities to facilitate the Sabarimala pilgrimage will be coordinated under the leadership of the District Collector. Emergency operation centers have been set up at Pampa, Nilakkal, and Sannidhanam.
Special training has been given to those who come on duty in the centers. The Disaster Management Authority has prepared a map that specifically marks all the places such as crowded places, fire and landslide-prone places, places where bread is available, places where firecrackers are offered, and places where gas is kept. Moreover, five areas of risk have been specifically identified. Six places were also found to take the devotees to safety in case of an accident. Only two lakh devotees are allowed in the Sannidhanam and its premises at a time. If more devotees arrive, the timely transportation of pilgrims from Swami Ayyappan Road to Sannidhanam will be under the control of the police. Moreover, the number of devotees coming for the pilgrimage will be informed to the District Collector at every three hourly intervals.
Ahead of the pilgrimage, the NDRF team camped in the district and checked the disaster risk. Two teams of NDRF will camp at Sabarimala during the pilgrimage. Along with the District Collector, there will be eight Deputy Collectors, 13 Tahsidars and 500 officials from outside the district. Mission Green also conducts the activities of Sabarimala properly. The Emergency Medical Center is functioning as a part of Safe Sabarimala. The minister said that assistance including oxygen cylinders has been made available here and that due to the possibility of flooding last time, great vigilance is being maintained.
District Collector Dr. Divya S Iyer presided. State Disaster Management Authority Member Secretary Dr. Shekhar Loukos Kuriakos, Disaster Management Deputy Collector T.G. Gopakumar, Adoor RDO A. Tulaseedharanpilla, Travancore Devaswom Board Administrator Officer A. Ayyappan, hazard analyst John Richard and others participated.
