S.H. Panchapakesan, Special Commissioner for Sabarimala appointed by the Kerala High Court, said the State government and the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) should explore the possibility of engaging the General Reserve Engineer Force (GREF) attached to the Indian Army to carry out the proposed widening and development work on Swami Ayyappan Road, that leads to the Sabarimala Sannidhanam from Pampa, in a time-bound, systematic manner.
Mr. Panchapakesan made this suggestion at a high-level meeting convened by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy in Thiruvananthapuram a week ago.
The Special Commissioner also expressed concern over the poor condition of Swami Ayyappan Road, the lone path leading to the hillock through which goods are transported between Pampa and the Sannidhanam.
The road was constructed by the late C. Subramaniam, cine director and producer, under the banner of Subramaniam Trust with the profit earned from the screening of his popular film ‘Swami Ayyappan' in the latter half of the Seventies. The three-metre-wide, 2.9-km-long road meets the Pampa Sannidhanam trekking path at Marakkoottom. The TDB made the road ‘tractorable' for transportation of raw materials for Aravana and Appam preparation as well as construction materials from Pampa to the Sannidhanam. The temple authorities transported 238 tonnes of rice, jaggery and coconuts for prasadom preparation alone through the route, engaging 40 tractors (four trips each) on a daily basis during the previous pilgrimage season.
The Sabarimala Master Plan has proposed widening and improvement of Swami Ayyappan Road. The high-power committee on Sabarimala had decided to undertake the work through sponsorship, after obtaining the mandatory clearance from the Forest Department as well as the Kerala High Court. It invited expression of interest from sponsors through newspaper advertisements five months ago, but to no avail.
Meanwhile, the TDB and the high-power committee decided to construct a road linking the Sannidhanam with the Chandranandan Road on a war footing with a view to diverting the flow of pilgrims returning after the holy darshan and avoid crowding at the hillock on the rush days during the annual pilgrim season. The State government has sought assistance of the Indian Army for construction of a Bailey Bridge across a stream on the proposed road and the Madras Engineering Group of the Army recently conducted a site inspection aimed at completing the bridge before the next pilgrimage season that begins in mid-November.
However, the TDB has to construct the road and the bridge approaches within three months to facilitate the MEG team to take up work on the proposed Bailey Bridge, which is quite unlikely in the prevailing situation, said highly placed board sources.
Mr. Panchapakesan stressed the need to seek the help of the GREF, given their expertise in developing roads even in difficult terrains and adverse climatic conditions. He said it was high time that the Chief Minister and Devaswom Minister intervened in the issue and sought the help of Defence Minister A.K. Antony for the proposed road development.
“Lack of planning and professionalism is the bane of the TDB. What is needed is professionalism, commitment and devotion to work to carry out various pilgrim-oriented works at Sabarimala,” Mr. Panchapakesan said.
