PATHANAMTHITTA: District Collector P Venugopal has said that a joint team of Revenue and Forest Departments will locate, demarcate and resume the disputed land, which comes under the purview of the Sabarimala Thiruvabharanam procession route from Koonamkara to Laha in Ranni-Perunad village office limits, within a fortnight.
The Collector, who visited the 3.5-km stretch of Thiruvabharanam procession route passing through the leased land under the possession of Harrisons Malayalam Ltd along with Ranni DFO Kamalahaar, told Express that the procession route, having a width of eight metres, would be located and resumed by a joint team of Revenue and Forest Department officials. The work on earmarking the Thiruvabharanam procession route in the HML estate would be conducted by a team led by the deputy district survey superintendent, he said.
Beginning on October 10, the team would complete the task of resuming the procession route in 15 days, Venugopal said.
Ranni DFO Kamalahaar said that measures would be taken for providing resting place for thousands of pilgrims, who accompany the Thiruvabharanam procession from Pandalam to Sabarimala, at Laha. The DFO gave the assurance to the Sabarimala Thiruvabharanapatha Samrakshana Samithi, which made a representation to the DFO seeking resting place at Laha Inspection Bungalow where the procession halts on the second night. The Laha Inspection Bungalow premises would be cleared for the overnight stay of the pilgrims, Kamalahaar said and added that the department would also make facilities for the supply of drinking water for the pilgrims.
Thiruvabharanapatha Smarakshana Samithi office-bearers, including convener Prasad Kozhikala and joint convener Anilkumar, were present when the Collector and DFO visited the disputed route.