KOCHI: Now, Sabarimala pilgrims returning after offering prayers at hill shrine need not worry about missing the KSRTC buses they have booked online owing to late arrival.
In a novel initiative, the KSRTC has decided to extend the validity of online tickets from Pampa to various destinations to 24 hours after the departure of the specific service.
This means pilgrims can catch another bus of the same category to the same destination if they miss the one they had booked.
The Sabarimala hill shrine often witnesses heavy rush of devotees who often wait hours in queues for their turn to have darshan. Even when the temple was opened for monthly poojas last month, there was unprecedented rush, forcing the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) to extend darshan timings.
“Pilgrims often book return tickets as well when they make the advance reservation. However, a lot of them miss the buses due to the heavy rush and queues. This was a regular complaint in previous seasons. Hence, we introduced the ‘extended validity’ facility from this season,” said a senior KSRTC official deployed at Pampa.
However, in group bookings, if individual members are travelling in separate buses using this facility, they will have to produce their ID cards KSRTC will soon start interstate long-haul buses from Pampa when the rush increases as the season advances.“A super-fast bus service has started operating from Guruvayur. The other long-haul buses, including interstate services, will be announced soon as and when there is heavy rush of pilgrims in another one or two weeks.
We’ve applied for permits to operate services to Chennai, Theni, Tirunelveli, Madurai and Kanyakumari,” the official said. The KSRTC also aims to operate Pampa-Nilakkal (21 kms) chain services at a frequency of five buses per minute during peak hours. The per-head fare is Rs 80 for AC buses and Rs 50 for non-AC buses.
2.26 LAKH DEVOTEES OFFER DARSHAN AT SABARIMALA
SABARIMALA: As many as 2.26 lakh devotees have visited the Sabarimala temple this Mandala-Makaravilakku season till 5 pm on Monday. Though the virtual queue slots for darshan were fully booked till November 30, with the average daily online booking capped at 70,000, the actual arrival of devotees showed a marked fall.
Spot booking too showed similar decline. The Devaswom Board indicated that the slowdown was short-term and would increase after the pandranduvilakku — the first 12 days of the 41-day season.
BUS FIRE: HC SEEKS REPORT FROM KSRTC
KOCHI: Kerala High Court on Monday asked the KSRTC to file a report on the incident in which a moving bus, which was not carrying devotees, caught fire and was gutted at Attathodu while it was on its way from Nilakkal to Pampa on Sunday.
When the suo motu cases relating to the arrangements being made for Sabarimala pilgrims came up for hearing, KSRTC counsel submitted that the vehicle destroyed in the fire was registered in 2016 and its fitness certificate is valid up to 2028.
The counsel said the corporation was conducting an inquiry into the cause of the accident. The forensic expert had examined the vehicle and the corporation would file a report in this regard.