KOCHI: As many as 13,665 police officials will be deployed in six phases during the pilgrimage season, the chief police coordinator, Sabarimala, has informed the High Court. Bomb detection and disposal squads equipped with metal detectors and X-ray scanners are being deployed, as are one company of RAF and two teams of NDRF, the coordinator said.
As for the arrangements in Sabarimala, the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) submitted that it had built an Annadanam hall spread over 1.4 lakh sq ft at Sannidhanam, which will be able to seat 2,000 pilgrims.
The TDB said it has made all arrangements to provide ‘annadanam’ to pilgrims throughout the day. The TDB said it has also built a two-storey Annadanam hall in Pampa, which can provide food for 500 pilgrims at a time. The hall at Nilackal can feed 200 pilgrims at a time.
The HC directed the authorities to ensure that display of the price list of food items in all the eateries in Sabarimala, Pampa, and Nilakkal in English, Hindi, Kannada, and Telugu, in addition to Malayalam. The court urged the authorities to conduct regular inspections in all eateries.