People residing inand around Erumely town, try to avoid consuming food or water from shops here duringthe pilgrimage season.
This isn’t part of any ritual, but itis due to the fear of getting imparted with various contagious diseases by thepoor sanitation and waste management facilities available here.
With just a few hours left for thesacred place to be strewn with the chanting of ‘Swamy Saranam’ mantras, theofficials of the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB), local bodies and other departmentsare yet to find remedies for various issues including, sanitation, wastemanagement and disposal, better ablution facilities among other basic amenitieshere.
It is evident that the first few daysof Mandala- Makara Vilakku season in Erumely will be a tough time for devoteesas the auctioning of shops, ablutions and parking area just concluded onTuesday.
It is estimated that about 2 croreAyyappa devotees visit Erumely each season to take blessings from Vavar Swamiand perform ‘Petta Thullal’- a ritual to commemorate Ayyappa’s victory againstdemon Mahishi.
The authorities have not yet found ascientific arrangements for disposing the tonnes of waste left by the peopleafter the celebrations.
The lone incinerator, which wasinstalled by Erumely grama panchayat around 10 years ago, is not at allfunctional now.
Failing to find any alternative, now theauthorities concerned are burying the waste in the forest area at Kanakappalam afew kilometres away from the town.
The major hurdle before the devoteeswill be the delay in setting up of the shops, ablutions and parking facilities here.
While the auctioning of 275 latrinesand bathrooms and parking area was held hardly two weeks ago, auctioning ofaround 56 plots for erecting temporary shops, which includes hotels, studios teaand snacks shops, was completed very late on Tuesday.
“The cleaning process of latrines andbathrooms are yet to be started.
Moreover, the unhygienic and oldablutions here are unhealthy,” said Aniyan Erumeli, social activist and theErumeli unit president of Akhila Bharatha Ayyappa Seva Sangham.