The renovation work of Swami Ayyappan Road, linking Pampa with Marakoottam, to carry prasadam raw materials and other essential items to Sannidhanam, will be awarded on July 31.
Talking to the Express, Chief Secretary and chairman of the High-Powered Committee on Sabarimala Infrastructure Development K Jayakumar said that the Rs 5.56-crore expansion-cum-renovation work on the Swami Ayyappan Road would begin immediately after awarding the contract.
Jayakumar said that of the 2.4-km road, the work on the dangerous and hazardous stretch of one km, located in the mid portion, would be given top priority to be completed before October 31.
Once the the first phase work is completed, the balance portion of the road would be undertaken with a cut-off date before the beginning of the next Vishu season, he said.
Jayakumar said that the other work to be undertaken before the beginning of the coming pilgrimage season would be the construction of soak-pits at Sannidhanam at a cost of Rs 42 lakh.
The construction of soak-pits is needed with the objective of preventing seepage from the septic tanks at Sannidhanam to Jnunangar, a tributary of Pampa river.
The delay in finalising the work on sewage treatment plant at Sannidhanam by the Kerala Water Authority, the nodal agency for the project, forced the High-powered Committee to take up the construction of soak-pits to prevent overflow from the septic tanks and subsequent pollution of Jnunangar, he said. Under the Sabarimala Zero-Waste Project, schemes for the collection and management of waste, including hydraulic vehicles, hydraulic bailing and pressing machines for plastic waste processing and tracked excavator, would be undertaken before the coming pilgrimage season, Jayakumar said.