THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Special queue system will be put in place in Sabarimala for women, children, handicapped and senior citizens during the annual pilgrimage season.
A high-level meeting chaired by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy here on Wednesday also decided to make pilgrim-friendly arrangements for prasadam coupon distribution, Devaswom Minister V S Sivakumar said in a statement.
The virtual queue system will be enhanced and plastic will not be allowed in Ayyappa Poongavanam.
Hotels in Sabarimala, Pampa and places related to the pilgrimage will be monitored by the Food Safety authorities.
This year, more number of oxygen parlours will be set up along the trekking path.The KSRTC will run 200 new buses for the pilgrims.
Infrastructure Development
The meeting decided to open the sewage treatment plant in Sabrimala and Kanamala bridge before the start of the annual pilgrimage season.
The Sabarimala masterplan projects will be completed in a time-bound manner.
The KSEB will be provided land in Nilackal to set up a 33KV sub-station. The canal in Erumeli will be renovated at a cost of Rs 2.2 crore.The infrastructure grant to panchayats related to Sabarimala pilgrimage will be upped.
The Vandiperiyar-Spencer Junction-Sathram road will be made motorable. A parking ground with a capacity of 10,000 vehicles will be set up in Nilackal and the works on the nearby roads will be completed before the season.
An amount of Rs 1.45 crore will sanctioned for the development of the police canteens in Pampa and Sannidhanam and Rs 1.2 crore as canteen subsidy.
Ministers K M Mani, Ramesh Chennithala, Adoor Prakash, Aryadan Mohammed and V K Ebrahim Kunju, Chief Whip P C George, MLAs Sivadasan Nair, Raju Abraham, Chittayam Gopakumar, E S Bijimol and N Jayaraj, Travancore Devaswom Board president M P Govindan Nair, member Subhash Vasu and commissioner P Venugopal attended the meeting.