SABARIMALA: Shortage of hands at the counting centre for hundi collection at Sannidhanam in Sabarimala is causing problems for Devaswom authorities.
The total number of staff members, including temporary workers, stood at 125 at the counting centre as against the required number of 250, Devaswom sources said. With the inadequate number of hands, there is a huge backlog of uncounted coins and currency notes.
The deployment of 50-odd students of the Kshetra Kalapeedom at Vaikom at the counting centre has failed to achieve the desired objective of clearing the backlog.
The heavy inflow of pilgrims for darshan of Lord Ayyappa in the last three days has further added to the backlog.
Deployment of additional 100 staff members is needed for the smooth functioning of the counting centre and clearing the backlog, the Devaswom sources said.
Emergency operations centre
The emergency operation centre under the Kerala State Disaster Management Authority began functioning for the 2019-2020 pilgrimage season. Based at Nilakkal pilgrim transit centre,
the emergency operation centre will provide services at Sannidhanam and Pampa.
The centre will monitor the flow of pilgrims to Sabarimala and collect data including the number of pilgrims, weather conditions, water
flow and even the water level in the dams, the source of water at Sabarimala.