PATHANAMTHITTA: The strike called by dolly operators after the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) decided to start prepaid counters for the service was called off on Tuesday following discussions with the Additional District Magistrate (ADM).
On Monday, the TDB called a meeting of dolly workers to discuss the implementation of a prepaid system for dollies at the hill shrine.
The system, aimed at assisting disabled and elderly devotees, has been facing several challenges during its rollout at the hill shrine. There were complaints of dolly carriers overcharging devotees for the service.
Earlier, the devaswom board had fixed the one-way service charge at Rs 3,250 per dolly. However, some carriers allegedly charged Rs 4,500 to 5,000 from devotees.
Soon after the meeting, where authorities announced plans to set up prepaid counters to standardise fares, an agitation was started. The prepaid system was introduced to fix rates for a single trip to the Sannidhanam and a round trip from the Pampa base camp, based on the weight of devotees.
According to officials, the proposal complied with the High Court directive to prevent overcharging of devotees.
“The recent arrest of four dolly workers for overcharging and misbehaving with devotees prompted the Board to highlight the need for implementing the system,” a TDB official said.
However, the dolly workers opposed the proposal, arguing that the rates fixed by the TDB did not reflect the physical labour involved. In response, they abruptly called a strike from Monday midnight onward, causing inconvenience to hundreds of devotees arriving at Pampa. The strike was called off after talks led by ADM Dr Arun S Nair. The ADM instructed dolly workers to submit their demands in writing while assuring them that their grievances would be presented before TDB, police and other officials concerned.
The dolly service is vital for elderly devotees and those with physical disabilities visiting the hill shrine. This season, the TDB issued permits to approximately 1,750 dolly carriers. Each dolly, carried by a team of four men, transports devotees on the five-km uphill trek from Pampa to Sannidhanam and back.
