PAMPA : The much-hyped Global Ayyappa Sangamam ended on Saturday under a cloud of controversy, as images of empty chairs across venues sparked criticism from Opposition parties, which branded the meet a “massive failure.”
Pictures and footage showing empty chairs at the main venue, initially broadcast by news channels and later widely circulated on social media, sparked speculation that the event had been a damp squib. Seats turned empty as several attendees left the main venue immediately after the Chief Minister left the stage, while seminars held across three different venues took place in front of largely vacant chairs.
Soon after the event, Devaswom Minister V N Vasavan hit back, dismissing the claims as “deliberate propaganda” and producing figures to assert the Sangamam’s success. According to him, 4,126 delegates registered and took part - including 1,819 from Kerala, 2,125 from 13 other states, and 182 international representatives.
“Only those with an interest in each of the three discussion sessions registered for them. Quoting one venue’s attendance to claim poor participation is misleading,” Vasavan told reporters. He listed state-wise figures, noting 1,545 participants from Tamil Nadu, 184 from Karnataka, and smaller contingents from states including Maharashtra, Odisha, and Uttar Pradesh. International attendees, he said, came from Sri Lanka, Malaysia, the US, Canada, the UK, and the Gulf.
The minister added that the government initially capped registrations at 3,000, but later raised it to 5,000 owing to demand. Vasavan lauded the Sangamam’s “organisational strength” and said the deliberations, led by experts, would feed into the work of an 18-member committee tasked with planning Sabarimala’s development. In a separate announcement, the minister also said President Droupadi Murmu is expected to visit Sabarimala next month.
CM UNVEILS Rs 1,000-CR DEVELOPMENT PLAN
PATHANAMTHITTA: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan underscored government’s financial support to the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) while unveiling a Rs 1,000-crore development blueprint for Sabarimala. “During Covid even the Board’s day-to-day functioning was in distress. The government extended Rs 140 crore aid, besides giving Rs 123 crore for renovation works. These facts are often ignored,” he said.
Since the launch of the Sabarimala Master Plan in 2011-12, projects worth Rs 148.5 crore were implemented. “Nilackal’s layout plan was approved in 2020, after years of delay by the high-powered committee.
This January, layout plans for Sannidhanam and the trek routes at Pampa also received approval,” he added. The Master Plan, with a horizon up to 2050, envisages integrated development of Sannidhanam, Pampa, Nilackal and traditional trekking paths. For Sannidhanam, Rs 600.47 crore has been earmarked for the first phase (2022-27), Rs 100.02 crore for the second phase (2028-33), and Rs 77.68 crore for the third (2034-39).