A Sabarimala pilgrim drowned in Periyar river at Aluva Sivaratri Manappuram on Sunday while taking bath in the river while returning after Sabarimala pilgrimage. The deceased is Akshay, 17, of Anitha Bhavan near Daivapuram Junction at Vakkom in Thiruvananthapuram.
He was returning home from Guruvayur temple along with 17 others when the mishap occurred. According to the police, the incident happened at 2.30 pm, when the pilgrims stopped near Manappuram to take bath in Periyar river before setting off to Thiruvananthapuram. Though everyone in the company went to the river together, nobody noticed that Akshay had drowned.
Only when the team was boarding the bus after taking bath that they noticed Akshay was missing. The pilgrims informed the police control room and the fire and rescue officials and they arrived at the spot immediately. The body was fished out by 4.30 pm. Aluva Sivarathri Manappuram is one of the halting stations of the Sabarimala pilgrims from North Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.
There were allegations that though the Kerala High Court had directed the government to provide safety measures at rivers close to various ‘Idathavalam’ (halting centres) en route Sabarimala, it was not followed in Aluva.