SABARIMALA: For the past three days, Salim who got the tender of running a 3,000 square feet wide hotel at Sannidhanam is worried a lot. He had invested Rs 1.71 crore in the recent tender to get the right to operate the hotel for the next one year.
Salim's turnover went beyond Rs 1 lakh every day in the previous year. But he is now struggling to pay the salary to his employees and meet the other expenses of the hotel. This all happened due to the low footfalls of devotees to the Sannidhanam after the controversial Supreme Court's verdict which permits the entry of women of all ages into the shrine.
"We are really worried about this pilgrim season. The controversial Supreme Court order has almost stopped people from coming to Sabarimala. We earned over Rs 1 lakh every day last year. But it has fallen to meagre Rs 30,000. The court order and the subsequent violent protest in and around the shrine have made the devotees hesitant to visit the hill shrine. Even the agitation that took place at Nilakkal also stopped people to enter here," Salim told Express when asked about the business.
The other hoteliers echo Salim's story as they too faced the same heat.
"The proprietor of our hotel won a bid by spending nearly Rs 70 lakh. Our balance sheet will be positive if we could raise a profit of Rs 1 lakh in a day. But now we are in a state of despair as we are struggling to meet the day-to-day expenses. The controversy over the entry of women has literally made our life at stake," said another hotel worker.
Ratheesh, who is working in a small shop which was tendered for Rs 17 lakh, said his business is badly affected during the ongoing pilgrim season. "Every year the footfalls of devotees in the last leg of Sabarimala season was high. This is the first time I am experiencing such a situation. Apart from the SC order, the recent flood also played a major role in restricting people from other states to visit the hill shrine, Ratheesh said.
Even the roadside eateries also suffering a huge blow due to the low footfalls.
Meanwhile, an unofficial report revealed that the income received as offering to Lord Ayyappa too sharply came down. "There is no doubt that the income of Sabarimala is got affected with the verdict as it led to low footfall of visitors," said an official who is on duty at Sabarimala requesting anonymity.