The Kerala High Court, on January 3, issued directions to the Travancore Devaswom Board to address the challenges faced by pilgrims stranded in Sabarimala due to the high influx during the Mandala-Makaravilakku festival season.
The bench of Justices Anil K Narendran and G Girish instructed the board to provide essential amenities such as drinking water and light refreshments to the pilgrims in need.
The court noted that as per the senior government pleader, on January 2, 2024, a total of 1,00,372 pilgrims had darshan at Sannidhanam. The HC was also told that although the total capacity of the parking grounds at Nilakkal is around 8,000 vehicles, there was underutilisation of the facility despite the heavy footfall of the pilgrims.
Therefore, the court directed the Travancore Devaswom Board and the district police chief of Pathanamthitta to ensure that the maximum number of vehicles are parked at the Devaswom parking grounds at Nilakkal.
On the amicus curiae’s submission that there is a shortage of drinking water and light refreshments near U-turn and S-valavu, the court ordered, “The Travancore Devaswom Board has to deploy more number of volunteers/employees at those locations, especially during night hours.”
The HC further ordered the superintending engineer, Kerala Water Authority, Public Health Circle, Pathanamthitta, to make provisions for an adequate supply of drinking water at U-turn and S-valavu, in consultation with the Board.
This order was passed in a suo moto petition, where the court addressed concerns related to the management of crowds at Sabarimala.
In addition to provisions for basic amenities, the court inquired about parking facilities and instructed the Travancore Devaswom Board and the district police chief of Pathanamthitta to ensure the efficient use of Devaswom parking grounds at Nilakkal, maximising the parking capacity for vehicles.
On December 13 last year, the same division bench issued directions for crowd management during the festival season.
The directions included instruction to the chief police coordinator at Sannidhanam to regulate the movement of pilgrims through Pathinettampadi, prioritising their safety while ensuring maximum pilgrims have darshan through the route.
The court had ordered for a special queue to be designated for the movement of women, children of tender age, and persons with disabilities to guarantee their safety.
It had further ordered the board to maintain cleanliness in queue complexes and pilgrim sheds, deploying 72 employees working round the clock in shifts while adding that an executive magistrate would conduct daily inspections to ensure cleanliness.
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