With 32 days left for the two-month long Mandalam-Makaravilakku pilgrim season at Sabarimala, the Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will visit the holy hillock of Sannidhanam on Tuesday to review the arrangements being planned by various Government departments as well as the Travancore Devaswom Board for the smooth conduct of the annual pilgrimage.
The Chief Minister will also lay the foundation stone for the proposed Government guest house, ‘Punyadarshanam Complex’, and for a giant water tank with a storage capacity of 36 lakh litres at the Sannidhanam.
The TDB has constructed the Italian-make Aravana plant donated by the business tycoon, Ravi Pillai at Sabarimala and Mr. Vijayan will inaugurate the plant during his maiden visit to the holy hillock.
The Punyadarshanam Complex will be having 24 furnished rooms, conference hall, dining hall, and a pilgrim facilitation centre.
The Devaswom Minister Kadakampally Surendran told The Hindu that the guest house was for accommodating the VVIPs and VIPS coming to Sabarimala from different parts of the country and abroad.
The work on the building will begin soon after the culmination of the Makaravilakku festival in January so that it could be completed before the beginning of the next pilgrim season.
The TDB chief engineer, Mr. V. Sankaran Potti, said the proposed 36,00,000-litre water tank would raise the total water storage capacity at the holy hillock to 226 lakh litres.
The water collected through gravitational flow from the Kunnar dam in the interior forests is the main drinking water source at the Sabarimala Sannidhanam.
Pampa bathing ghats
Mr. Vijayan will also launch the ambitious project to beautify the Pampa bathing ghats in the foothills of Sabarimala.
The proposal is to raise the Pampa Manalpuram, along the Triveni-Arattu Kadavu stretch by one metre and beautify it with concrete pavers.
Shower bath facility will also be provided at the Pampa Manalpuram for the devotees to clean their bodies before entering the river for the holy dip.
Construction of an independent toilet block for woman devotees and a resting place for pilgrims are two other projects to be implemented at the Pampa Manalpuram.
The Chief Minister will also lay the foundation stone for yet another toilet block at Nilackal.
Review meeting
The Chief Minister will chair the review meeting to be held at the Malikappuram Nadappanthal at 10 a.m. The Devaswom Minister will preside over the function and the TDB president Prayar Gopalakrishnan will deliver the keynote address on the occasion.
Mr. P. Balakiran, Tourism director, will present the project report of the proposed guest house.
