Kerala - Pathanamthitta   

VIPs' visit may cause hardship to pilgrims

By Our Staff Reporter

PATHANAMTHITTA, JAN. 6. The visit of five members of the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament along with their personal staff and certain top officials attached to the Lok Sabha to Sabarimala on January 13 is likely to cause inconvenience to the thousands of pilgrims who will converge at the holy hillock on the penultimate day of the annual pilgrim season.

The VIP team, though on an unofficial visit, has reportedly sought nine special rooms in the TDB Guesthouse at the Sannidhanam for their accommodation on January 13 and 14, besides special arrangements for food and the holy darshan.

Many devotees are apprehensive about the visit of the team even when Parliament is yet to consider a report submitted by the previous PAC chaired by Buta Singh on Sabarimala 10 month ago. The report had recommended delinking of 500 hectares of forest land, including Sabarimala, from the Periyar Tiger Reserve with a view to providing maximum basic facilities for pilgrims there.

Makarajyothi

The Sannidhanam will be flooded with devotees on January 13 and 14 to witness the sighting of the auspicious Makarajyothi on the eastern horizon on the last day. Usually, the police block pilgrims at Pampa from January 13 evening as part of the crowd control measures. The law-enforcing agencies often find themselves helpless in controlling the mammoth crowd that throng the holy hillock in divine frenzy to witness the celestial light.

The Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) has already begun preparations to welcome the VIPs. The TDB is learnt to have deputed a team of senior officials to supervise the hospitality arrangements. The VIPs will be taken to the Sannidhanam on dollies through the crowded trekking path.

The police had a tough time making security arrangements for the visit of 22 PAC members during the previous Makaravilakku festival.

Review meeting

Meanwhile, the Devaswom Minister, K.C. Venugopal, has convened a meeting of heads of various Government departments and agencies at Pampa tomorrow to review the arrangements for the Makaravuilakku festival.

The Travancore Devaswom Board president, G. Raman Nair, will preside over the meeting. The Devaswom Commissioner, C.G. Satchidanandan, the District Collector, Rabeendra Kumar Agarwal, and the District Superintendent of Police, T. Chandran, will attend the meet.

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