SABARIMALA: The Sabarimala Ayyappa Seva Samajam (SASS) has said that the proposal to impose curbs on the entry of pilgrims to the Lord Ayyappa temple by the police authorities was part of a conspiracy to sabotage the Sabarimala pilgrimage.
SASS state president Swami Ayyappadas said the suggestion for mandatory restriction on the entry of pilgrims was the handiwork of the vested interests of the police authorities and is a hidden agenda to sabotage the pilgrimage.
By taking advantage of the flood and the damage at Pampa and the inability of the pilgrims to reach there, the section of the police authorities hatched a game plan against the Sabarimala pilgrimage, Ayyappadas said.
Recalling similar incidents, he said, after the Pulmedu tragedy which took the lives of 104 pilgrims, the Forest Department hatched a conspiracy by extending Pulmedu under the sanctuary of Periyar Tiger Reserve and barred the pilgrims to come to Sabarimala through the Vallakadavu-Kozhikkanam-Uppupara-Pulmedu forest trekking path.
The SASS state president urged the Travancore Devaswom Board president to reject the proposal of the police authorities to make the online booking for entry of pilgrims for darshan during the pilgrimage season mandatory.For making an on-the-spot assessment of the situation at Pampa, the SASS team will visit Pampa-Triveni on Monday.
104 pilgrims were killed in the Pulmedu tragedy which led to the curb on pilgrims to come to Sabarimala through the forest trekking path
Efforts on to restore bridge at Pampa-Triveni
Sabarimala; Padmakumar said Devaswom authorities have already initiated measures to restore the foot over bridge (FOB) at Pampa-Triveni. As a temporary measure, the TDB will build a passway by Monday.The Board’s works department is working round the clock to build the facility. This will not only help the pilgrims, but also the KSEB to carry equipment to restore power supply at Sanidhanam, Padmakumar said. He said he will visit Sabarimala on Monday to check the progress of the work on passway as well as the FOB restoration.He said adequate measures have been taken to help pilgrims visit the temple during the monthly pooja for the Malayalam month of Kanni on September 16.