Kerala - Pathanamthitta   

TDB starts Aravana production

For Mandalam season: Aravana production in progress at the mechanised Aravana plant in Sabarimala.

PATHANAMTHITTA: The Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) has started production of Aravana at its mechanised plant at the Sabarimala Sannidhanam with a view to keeping a buffer stock of 25 lakh cans (250 ml each) before the start of the pilgrim season on November 15.

Devaswom executive officer at Sabarimala V.S. Jayakumar told The Hindu that as many as eight lakh cans of Aravana had already been produced as on Monday evening. He said the TDB had stocked sufficient quantity of materials for the Aravana preparation.

Mr. Jayakumar said the board had also initiated a fool-proof mechanism to ensure the quality of materials, especially jaggery and rice, supplied by contractors for the Aravana production. The maintenance of the automatic filling machine was completed a month ago and the installation works of a modern jaggery melting unit and two cooling chambers were fast progressing, he said.

He said that nearly 85,000 cans of Aravana was being produced at the mechanised plant on a daily basis and with the installation of the additional cooling chambers and jaggery melting unit, it could be made 1,80,000 cans a day. Aravana would be in great demand at Sabarimala during the festival season.

He said the Dhanalakshmi Bank had been entrusted with the task of Arvana ticket sales and distribution. The bank had made arrangements to sell Aravana tickets at its branches across the country and at Sabarimala.

The bank staff would man the Aravana distribution counters at the Sannidhanam. Mr. Jayakumar said as many as 75 lakh eco-friendly Aravana cans and one crore imported flip lids had been stocked at the Devaswom godown.

The TDB sources said the board had submitted a proposal to the Kerala High Court to revoke the recently hiked Vazhipadu rates at Sabarimala on the basis of a direction issued in this regard by Devaswom Minister Kadannappally Ramachandran.

It is noteworthy that the TDB had revised the Vazhipadu rates at Sabarimala after obtaining mandatory approval from the High Court four months ago. The board authorities said the rate was hiked to check middlemen fleecing the pilgrims in the name of supplying materials for various rituals at the holy hillock.

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