The stampede that took place at Pulmedu near Sabarimala on Friday is the second such incident to have occurred during the pilgrimage season at the hill temple.
The first tragedy happened the same day, January 14, in 1999, at Sabarimala. As many as 53 persons were killed, and Justice Chandrasekhara Menon, who inquired into the incident, put the blame on the lack of coordination among the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB), the Kerala State Electricity Board, and the government.
The stampede was the result of overcrowding on a hilltop near the parking ground and the rush that resulted from everyone hurrying back to reach his vehicle after witnessing ‘Makaravilakku.'
The Justice Chandrasekhara Menon Commission recommended that the existing administrative set-up at Sabarimala be replaced with one along the lines of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams.
The administrative committee, it said, should be a statutory body with nine members, and should be headed by a person not below the rank of an Additional Chief Secretary.
Today, Additional Chief Secretary K. Jayakumar is coordinating arrangements for the pilgrimage, although a set-up similar to that in Tirupati has not been implemented.
The commission suggested that members of the proposed committee include a representative of the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests, the Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) of the State, a member or nominee of the TDB, the Tantri of the temple, a member of the Pandalam royal family, and three representatives of devotees nominated by the Kerala High Court.
It further suggested that the areas available without tree growth at Pulmedu, Uppupara, Nilackal and Attathodu be used for providing facilities to pilgrims. The commission criticised the government for not implementing several practical recommendations made by the Assembly Committee on Environment chaired by A.V. Thamarakshan in the 1990s.
An explosion connected to fireworks at Sabarimala in 1952 claimed 65 lives. Most of the victims were from Tamil Nadu.
Worst tragedy
The stampede on Friday is the worst tragedy to occur in the history of the annual pilgrimage.
One common factor between Friday's incident and the one in 1999 is that both occurred on the night of Makarajyothi, when a glow appears on a hillock beyond a deep, wooded valley to the east of the temple. This glow can be witnessed from several points along the trekking path to the shrine, and the moment it appears is the climactic moment of the pilgrimage.
Pilgrims congregate in large numbers at every point from where the Makarajyothi can be seen, and after the experience, there is a rush to reach their vehicles.
The Kerala government has been pursuing a project on the basis of the commission's report to reduce over-crowding at Sabarimala, introduce a dependable system for crowd management by developing base camps, and improve facilities for pilgrims.
The project, however, has yet to progress. In the meantime, the number of pilgrims has been increasing every year. Although accurate numbers are not available, officials estimate that around 25 lakh pilgrims were in the Sabarimala region on Friday.
