PATHANAMTHITTA: Ahead of the ceremonial procession from Pandalam carrying Thiruvabharanam, the golden attire to be adorned on the idol during the Makaravilakku festival at Sabarimala, the 83-km traditional path is in dire need of a revamp.
As many as 43 km of the sacred path goes through residential areas and the rest belongs to Poonkavanam of the hill shrine.
The Thiruvabharanam Path Protection Council and Ayyappa Seva Sangham along with Ranni panchayat, had started a voluntary cleaning drive recently.
Ranni panchayat president K R Prakash Kuzhikala and former royal representative and Thiruvabharanam Path Protection president Moolam Thirunal Raghava Varma Raja inaugurated the drive.
Urging to make the holy path fully operational with basic facilities for devotees, the former royal representative pointed out that devotees are facing hardships at halting points.
The Thiruvabharanam Path Council's general secretary Prasad Kuzhikala said that there has been a massive participation in the procession in recent years.
"At least 10,000 people will follow the holy procession. The media had highlighted the encroachments on the route. The condition of the path on several stretches remains poor though they had carried out the works with the help of a few local bodies," he said.
"Just 10 days remain for the sacred procession. Though the route will be used only for two days, facilities should be made available for the large number of devotees who go on foot through the route," he added.
According to council working president V K Rajagopal, the issue was raised on several occasions. The pilgrims need drinking water and basic facilities at halting places.
More than 70 per cent of encroachments in the Thiruvabharanam route
The encroachments are yet to be removed from the path, says the devotees' organisations. Earlier, nearly 530 cases of encroachments were detected on the Thiruvabharanam route.
Citing a High Court order directing the local authorities to assess the encroachment and settle the issue, Prasad said measures are still pending in this regard.
"In some areas, the Thiruvabharanam route has adequate width. However, more than 70 per cent of encroachments are still there," he said.
As per schedule, the procession, escorted by a representative of the Pandalam Palace, will set off from the Valiyakoickal Sastha temple on January 12 afternoon to Sabarimala. The procession will reach the hill shrine on the third day.
