The Bharatiya Janata Party has urged the Centre to declare Sabarimala a special administrative region (SAR) to serve the interests of pilgrims visiting the Ayyappa temple.
The appeal was made in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi by BJP State general secretary A.N. Radhakrishnan.
He alleged lack of commitment among government agencies, the Travancore Devaswom Board, organisations of Ayyappa devotees, the High Power Committee for Implementation of Sabarimala Masterplan, and other stakeholders in ensuring basic facilities during the pilgrim season.
The TDB and the State authorities had put the number of pilgrims visiting Sabarimala during the two-month annual pilgrim season at four crore, which is almost double the population of the State.
Mr. Radhakrishnan said Sabarimala had the potential of a global pilgrim destination. But, the ad hoc management system should be discarded by declaring the pilgrim centre and surrounding areas a special administrative region to ensure a better administrative mechanism.
The State administration and the TDB had been facing difficulties in coordinating the Sabarimala pilgrimage. He said funds were inadequate and the Union government often failed to issue timely clearances for developing pilgrim infrastructure in the statutory forest areas of the Periyar Tiger Reserve.
Mr. Radhakrishnan said experts had opined that the Sabarimala Masterplan prepared by the Delhi-based Ecosmart India Limited was theoretical and unbalanced. The accommodation and sanitation needs of the pilgrims had not been met.
