The Hindu : Front Page : Aravana shortage: TDB cancels contract

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Sunday, Nov 18, 2007
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Aravana shortage: TDB cancels contract

Radhakrishnan Kuttoor

LONG WAIT: Devotees throng the prasadom counter at Sabarimala on Saturday to buy Aravana payasom which fell short of the demand.

PATHANAMTHITTA: Acute shortage of ‘aravana’ payasom on the first day of the Sabarimala Mandalam-Makaravilakku pilgrimage on Saturday forced the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) to cancel the supply contract given to a private company.

TDB president C.K. Gupthan told The Hindu that the board decided to prepare and pack aravana on its own to tide over the crisis. The TDB had to regulate the sale of aravana to a maximum of three cans of 500 ml each to every pilgrim from the morning.

At one stage, it even stopped its sale for more than an hour, causing hardships to pilgrims. Pilgrims had to wait for hours in long-winding queues to buy aravana. The ‘delay tactics’ adopted by TDB personnel at the ‘prasadom’ counter also caused much inconvenience to the pilgrims. Special Commissioner appointed by the Kerala High Court M.Rajendran Nair inspected the aravana packing unit following complaints from devotees.

Mr. Gupthan said the private agency, Elite Exports, with which the board signed the contract failed to supply sufficient quantity of aravana to the board to meet the needs even on the first day.

He said the Kerala High Court directed the TDB to take adequate steps to tide over the crisis. Mr. Gupthan said a crisis management team headed by Executive Officer B. Unnikrishnan had been constituted to resolve the crisis. Devotees were also seen complaining of poor quality appam. TDB sources said the stock of aravana at the counters on Saturday was only 40,000 cans where as the sale of aravana on the first day of the previous pilgrim season was 1.1 lakh cans.

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