Even as the blame game over the responsibility of the recent stampede at Sabarimala continues, an emergency operation centre would be opened at the Sannidhanam on January 1. This is in addition to the one that has been functioning at Pampa.
The hill shrine, where millions of pilgrims converge during the festival seasons, has seen many accidents. Hundreds of pilgrims have lost their lives in a series of accidents at the temple and its precincts over the years. The latest occurred last week when 25 persons were injured in a stampede. The accident occurred when an iron crossbar fell on the pilgrims during peak rush time.
The Institute of Land and Disaster Management (ILDM) has finalised a crisis management plan for the temple for the current Makaravilakku festival season, considering the latest accident, said Faisal T. Illiyas, project coordinator.
The Makaravilakku festival is on January 14.
The crisis management experts have proposed detailed precautionary measures, including assigning of safety officers on all viewpoints of Makarajyothi on the festival day, when thousands of pilgrims would reach the temple.
Fire risk
A large number of devotees would gather at vantage points in Pathanamthitta and Idukki districts to view Makarajyothi. The pilgrims arrive at the viewpoints a couple of days in advance and make temporary resting places using wood, cloth, and plastic sheets. Some cook food there, which would increases the fire risk, the plan pointed out.
Stampede
After darshan, devotees will leave the viewpoints quickly and the sudden release of crowd in a short span of time could cause stampedes, the crisis management plan warned.
The congregation of devotees in remote and unsafe viewpoints needs to be regulated. Fire crew with fire tender and ambulance with medical team should be put on alert. Nellimala and Ayyanmala have been identified as two high risk viewpoints. Emergency operations and evacuation would be difficult in these centres considering the inaccessible terrain, it has been pointed out.
It has been proposed to assign Safety Officers at each view point for coordination with the Departments of Police, Revenue, Fire and Rescue Services, Health, Forest and local authorities.
Inspection
A full-fledged inspection of safety arrangements should be carried out on the previous evening of the festival and status report should be submitted to the District Collector and Superintendent of Police, it was suggested.
As devotees would hurriedly leave the view points after the darshan, which could cause accidents, the minutes after the darshan should be treated as the high-risk time. The police should develop site-specific crowd release and vehicle management plan during the peak time. Banners/boards should be displayed in viewpoints exhibiting dos and don’ts for devotees, it suggested.
