Thiruvananthapuram: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday said government will ensure smooth access to pilgrims who visit Sabarimala without online booking.
Responding to a submission by CPI(M) leader V Joy in the Assembly, CM said all measures are being taken to ensure smooth darshan for Sabarimala pilgrims who had not made an online registration. Vijayan's statement came following a meeting under his chairmanship to discuss measures to facilitate the Sabarimala Mandala-Makara pilgrimage.
Earlier, the Kerala government had stated that darshan will be provided to pilgrims only through online registration, ending spot booking facilities, but the move had drawn a widespread protest. Today, the CM clarified that those who visit Sabarimala without online registration will also be provided darshan at Lord Ayyappa temple. The CM further told in the Assembly that the government intends to strengthen the virtual queue as well.
The CM said that a detailed planning was done in meetings with the Devaswom minister, Travancore Devaswom Board, police and district administration. Adequate steps have been taken to improve coordination between Travancore Devaswom Board, police and departments of forest, health, public works, fire and emergency services, legal metrology, disaster management, food and public distribution, irrigation, KSEB, KSRTC, BSNL, water authority and pollution control board to provide better facilities at Sannidhanam, Pamba and other resting places for all the pilgrims.
Ambulance facilities at Nilakkal and Pampa:
It has decided to provide ambulance services at Nilakkal and Pampa and start 12 emergency medical centres along the Karimala route in collaboration with the forest department and to ensure the services of cardiologists. The CM also informed that necessary steps have been taken to repair roads as well as provide facilities and ensure security of the devotees coming from other states on the Kanana paths.
A review meeting was held on October 5 and the issue of allowing spot booking and ensuring smooth darshan and safety of pilgrims arriving at Sabarimala were discussed.
Advanced system for crowd management:
It was decided in the meeting, that information will be recorded about the route chosen by pilgrims in the virtual queue in order to make necessary arrangements in advance for controlling the rush. Talks were held on making necessary changes in the software so that devotees could select days, avoiding those when more crowds were expected.
Information on the number of pilgrims booked each day will be provided to the district administration, police and other departments in advance. The meeting also decided to maintain a record of the pilgrim details through virtual queue registration. The entire effort is aimed at helping in ensuring safety at Sabarimala and identifying people in case of accidents or other mishaps during the pilgrimage.
The virtual queue system, which is running flawlessly at major pilgrimage centres including Tirupati, was introduced in Sabarimala in 2011.
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