Two safety trips to identify vulnerable and accident-prone areas along the major pilgrim route to Sabarimala will be launched next week.
An expert team consisting of representatives from Kerala Police, Forest, Fire and Rescue Services, and Institute of Land and Disaster Management will hit the road on July 16. The team will travel from Pathanamthitta to Pampa to identify the accident-prone areas, risky river points, possible safe parking lots along the routes and places where vehicles and pilgrims could be asked to temporarily stay put for a few hours to clear the rush of pilgrims.
When permitting the temporary parking of vehicles, some arrangements for providing refreshment to the pilgrims and drinking water need to be arranged.
The proximity to houses or places where water and refreshment could be stockpiled will be identified during the trip. The safety trips are being planned as pilgrim safety is a priority area for the 2016-2017 pilgrimage season starting mid-November.
The crisis management group constituted by the State government and led by the Pathanamthitta District Collector, had met on the 2nd week of June to formulate the safety and disaster preparedness requirements of Sabarimala, said Faisal T. Illiyas, the crisis management expert who is working on the Sabarimala pilgrim safety project.
The Pampa-Sabarimala route is opted by around 50 per cent of the pilgrims that reach the hillock during the temple pilgrim season. The attempt is to identify the potential hazards and vulnerable areas along the route and find short and long-term mitigation measures.
In some cases, additional signage needs to be put up along the road to caution the vehicle drivers. In some other instances, protective embankments, reflectors, protective fencing, and other safety mechanisms need to be introduced. The joint inspection would yield an insight into the hazards that lurk along one of the most travelled routes by the pilgrims, he said.
The safety of bathing Ghats along the route will also be scanned. During the last season, one pilgrim was lost in the river.
Unsafe bathing Ghats need to be identified and pilgrims prevented from stepping into the river at those spots. The tendency of some pilgrims to park their vehicles along the forest route and cook food is a risky behaviour as the use of stove could lead to forest fire. Safe parking lots need to be identified for these pilgrims, he said.
While the district administration will implement the less expensive ones, the proposals that require huge investments would be forwarded to the government, he said.
