The Hindu : PAC moots more pilgrim facilities

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jan 15, 2004

Kerala

Kerala

PAC moots more pilgrim facilities

By Our Staff Reporter

SABARIMALA, JAN 14. The Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the Parliament, Buta Singh, today said that the PAC was convinced of the need to provide more basic facilities for pilgrims at Sabarimala.

Addressing a press conference at Sabari Nivas here, Mr. Buta Singh said he had personally witnessed the hardships faced by pilgrims due to the grossly inadequate basic facilities, especially during the annual Mandalam-Makaravilaku pilgrim season. Asked whether the PAC visit to Sabarimala was an official one, Mr. Singh said "now it has become an official one".

The PAC chairman said that the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) had submitted a "comprehensive master plan" for Sabarimala development, which would necessitate 500 hectares of forest land in the Periyar Tiger Reserve (PTR).

The TDB had sought exclusion of 500 hectares in the southern fringe of the PTR from the reserve forests so as to implement the proposed development plan.

Mr. Singh said the PAC would look into the whole issue and prepare an early report on Sabarimala, which would be the basis for providing more pilgrim facilities at Sabarimala.

Later, the Cultural Affairs Minister, G. Karthikeyan, said the high-level committee comprising himself, the TDB president, N. Babu, and the Chief Co-ordinator for Sabarimala, E.K. Bharath Bhushan, would sit together to explore the possibilities for providing more basic pilgrim facilities at Sabarimala during the next annual Mandalam-Makaravilakku season. The Minister, along with Dr. Babu, was addressing a joint press conference.

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