Sabarimala pilgrims have been put to much hardship owing to the traffic congestion along the Chalakkayam-Pampa stretch of the main trunk road leading to Sabarimala since Friday morning.
The prime trigger of the traffic snarl is the parking of KSRTC buses on both sides of the Chalakkayam-Pampa road.
The corporation was forced to do this after the Forest Department allegedly took over a portion of an area used by the KSRTC to park its vehicles at Pampa. The line of vehicles extended even up to Nilackal, about 15 km from Pampa on Saturday.
KSRTC assistant special officer K.P. Radhakrishnansaid that on the first day of this pilgrim season itself the Forest Department had taken over nearly an acre of land near the Pampa depot the corporation had been using as its parking ground for three decades.
Mr. Radhakrishnan said the KSRTC was forced to park its 70-odd vehicles on either side of road. The heavy vehicle inflow to Pampa from Friday morning has complicated the situation.
Devaswom Minister Kadakampally Surendran criticised the Forest Department and directed the District Collector to release the forestland for the parking of KSRTC buses, invoking Disaster Management Rules.
Forest dept version
Divisional Forest Officer Kochu Kanjiram told The Hindu that the department decided to restore the forestland because the KSRTC had failed to obtain the mandatory clearance from the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests. The Special Commissioner appointed by the Kerala High Court, M. Manoj, had reported the matter to the court and a Division Bench comprising Justices P.R. Ramachandra Menon and Devan Ramachandran expressed concern over the “non-cooperation and negative attitude of the Forest Department to Sabarimala affairs.”
Wildlife card
The court observed that, “various reports showed that each and every action taken in the larger public interest is being objected to by the Forest Department, playing the wildlife card.” The Kerala High Court Division Bench stated that “the Forest Department cannot run a parallel government. It is only an organ of the government and the government should take remedial measures to safeguard the interests of the pilgrims and the public.”
