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‘Aravana’ distribution at Sabarimala disrupted

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The delay in finalising the contract coupled with the failure of the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) in acquiring skills for running the plant are reported to have led to the disruption of ‘aravana’ distribution in Sabarimala.

TDB sources told The Hindu on Sunday that the agreement for preparing and packing ‘aravana’ was signed only on November 12 and the board did not get sufficient time to monitor and evaluate the capability of the contractor in running the plant. Had the board signed the agreement three months ago and evaluated the performance of the contractor, the crisis could have been averted.

Though 1,200 temples from Thiruvananthapuram to Thrikariyur in Kothamangalam come under the purview of the board, top priority is being given to the festivals in Sabariamala which attract lakhs of pilgrims from different parts of the country.

Against the average production capacity of 80,000 containers, the real demand often touches 1.5 lakh a day.

The board used to meet twice a week regularly. With the frequency of the meetings coming down to less than two a month, many important files were awaiting the clearance of the board.

The special commissioners holding charge before the formation of the board too chose to tread cautiously and kept on hold all major decisions to avert any controversy. All these had a bearing on the preparations for the Sabarimala festival, the sources said.

Earlier, the board headed by V.G.K. Menon had drawn flak for signing an eight-year build-operate-transfer pact on April 13, 1999 with a private company.

Despite being aware that the board would have to run the plant on its own on the termination of the agreement, successive boards did not train the employees or increase capacity.

This had forced the board to depend on private contractors.

Had the board employees acquired the skill, it could have conducted a trial run well before the festival.

The recommendation of experts to shift the ‘aravana’ plant, after a fire, to a remote place on security grounds is gathering dust.

The board is yet to consider the proposal, the sources said.

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