Swami Ayyappan Road, lone ‘tractorable' route to the Sabarimala Sannidhanam from Pampa, is in a poor condition.
Though the Travancore Devaswom Board has submitted a project report and estimate of Rs.5.5 crore for widening the road to five metres from three metres eight months ago, the work remains a non-starter for want of mandatory clearance from the Kerala High Court, board sources said.
The poor condition of the road had led to inordinate delay in reaching materials for prasadom preparation and puja to the Sannidhanam during the previous festival season.
Two workers were killed when a tractor carrying goods to the Sannidhanam along the ravaged road overturned in November 2010.
Though the TDB and the then Devaswom Minister had promised to widen Swami Ayyappan Road, no steps had been taken so far to undertake the work.
The proposed alternative road project for routing those returning from the Sannidhanam to Chandranandan Road too is unlikely to materialise due to the poor condition of Swami Ayyappan Road.
Iron girders and heavy materials for constructing a bailey bridge by the Indian Army on the proposed road at the Sannidhanam have to be transported through the same route.
Transporting materials on tractors would not be possible on Swami Ayyappan Road in its present condition and at least Rs.1 crore was required for its maintenance.
Official sources said 240 tonnes of rice, jaggery balls, coconut, and other articles were transported from Pampa to the Sannidhanam for prasadom preparation during the last pilgrim season. This was besides the transport of construction materials, articles of shopkeepers, hoteliers, departments, and the Sabarimala Sanitation Society.
They said 40 tractors were deployed on Swami Ayyappan Road for transporting goods in the previous pilgrim season on a daily basis. Each tractor used to make as many as four trips, taking a maximum load of 1.5 tonnes.
With hardly three months for the pilgrim season, the TDB was unlikely to launch the road development work at this juncture, even if it gets the court's clearance.
Widening of the road required heavy earth work and hence it could never be completed in such a short span of time, the sources said.
Temple authorities were supposed to start preparation for Aravana in mid-October in order to keep 20 lakh cans of the prasadom as buffer stock before the opening of the Ayyappa temple for the pilgrim season.
