A 40-year old pilgrim, identified as Venkitesalu from Ongole Gopala Nagar in Prakasom district of Andhra Pradesh, was drowned in river Pampa on the foothills of Sabarimala on Friday.
According to police, the mishap occurred while the pilgrim was taking bath in river Pampa around 3.30 am. The body was taken to Andhra Pradesh in an ambulance, later.
Vehicular traffic disrupted
Vehicular traffic on the Mannarakulanji-Chalakkayam main trunk road leading to Sabarimala was disrupted for about two hours in the early hours of Friday due to uprooting of a giant tree in the forests on the wayside near Plappally.
A Forest department team led by John G.Packil, assistant station officer at Pampa, rushed to the spot and cut the tree to clear the block, later, around 2 am.
