KOCHI: The Travancore Devaswom Board and the Special Commissioner, Sabarimala, on Thursday submitted before the High Court that the crowd management at Nilakkal, Pampa and Sannidhanam was under control.
The chief police coordinator, Sannidhanam, informed the court that when there is overcrowding at Sabarimala, certain restrictions are imposed on the movement of pilgrims at Nilakkal and Pampa. Those restrictions could be lifted only when there is sufficient outflow from Sannidhanam and Pampa.
To bring down the crowd at Pampa, KSRTC was directed to bring empty buses from Nilakkal. When the empty buses started journey from Nilakkal, the pilgrims, who had been waiting there for a long time, attempted to enter the buses, which could not be prevented by the police, the coordinator submitted.
A Division Bench headed by Justice Anil K Narendran said that nearly 300 e-mails were received by the Registrar General of the High Court, some of which were addressed to the chief justice, pointing out the various issues at Sabarimala.
The court said that it appears that most of the pilgrims were unaware of the proceedings pending before the court and also the directions issued by the court to ensure that all pilgrims have a safe and comfortable darshan at Sabarimala.
Half of the cops told to stay back after their phase is over
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Police have made rearrangements in the deployment of cops at the hill shrine. As per the new order, only half of the cops who are deployed in Sabarimala should be relieved at once. The rest should be directed to stay there for a few more days till the next batch settles down.