THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:
The Travancore Devaswom Board’s decision to launch a passenger helicopter service to Sabarimala with a landing facility at Nilakkal, has come in for criticism.
A decision made by the board in November last to start the service and invite expression of interest is reported to have been made without giving due thought to its far-reaching environmental and security concerns.
Board sources told The Hindu here that as per the latest decision, those intending to fly to Sabarimala and land at the helipad close to the Nilakkal Mahadeva temple would have to remit Rs.20,000 with the Chief Engineer’s office at Pamba. Those desirous of availing themselves of the facilyt would have to submit applications for prior approval to the board authorities.
Earlier, as part of a plan to decongest Sabarimala, the board had worked out a proposal for developing a township at Nilakkal on the 250 acres of land it had secured from the Farming Corporation at a cost of Rs.6 crore. The land was brought after the termination of the 100-year lease period and the custodian reserved the right to develop the land at its will.
Considering the heavy rush in Sabarimala, environmental damage caused due to overcrowding and also to overcome threat of deforestation, it was proposed to develop a base camp at Nilakkal with adequate facilities to accommodate about 25,000 people at a time. The proposed township was to have a full-fledged hospital, hotels, shopping complex, parking and other facilities too.
After monitoring the pilgrim flow at Sabarimala, those camping at Nilakkal were to be send to Pamba in batches so that they could have a comfortable `darshan’ and also return to the base camp without staying in Sabarimala.
It was also proposed to have a light motor vehicle service from Nilakkal to Pamba at an affordable rate for carting pilgrims by hiring vehicles from an automobile company. Construction of a helipad was also one of the components of the scheme.
The governing committees that assumed office subsequently shelved the project and resorted to ad hoc crowd control measures. Now, the helipad development and passenger service alone have been picked up. Since the board does not have the expertise to go ahead with such a major initiative on its own, adequate precautions have to be made and the security and environmental concerns need to be addressed. The alleged haste shown by the board in pushing through the project in insolation, without developing the township, may not yield the desired results, sources said.EOM/NJN
