Kerala - Pathanamthitta   

Shelter for poor pilgrims at Aranmula soon

Staff Reporter

Project sponsored by UNDP and Union Government

PATHANAMTHITTA: Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) president G. Raman Nair laid the foundation stone for a shelter for the poor devotees camping at the Sree Parthasarathy Temple in Aranmula on Saturday afternoon.

Sponsored by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Government of India under the Endogenous Tourism Project, the shelter will give retiring facilities to 100 pilgrims. It will be constructed in the Devaswom property adjacent to the temple on the banks of the Pampa.

The Endogenous Tourism Project aims at promoting cultural and heritage tourism in rural India. It was the Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, T.K.A. Nair, during his visit to Aranmula, who proposed project.

The Vasthu Vidya Gurukulam attached to the State Cultural Affairs Ministry prepared the project report.

According to Gurukulam Executive Director P.N. Suresh, who is also the coordinator of the project, the estimated cost of the shelter is Rs.5 lakhs. The District Collector has handed over the amount to the TDB. The work will be completed before the Mandalam-Makaravilakku pilgrim season.

The TDB members Punalur Madhu and M.B. Sreekumar were present at the stone-laying ceremony.

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