The Sabarimala pilgrim season has started and the Kerala government has announced several measures to facilitate a smooth movement of devotees. Most of these steps are an annual ritual and seldom adequate to ease the miseries the devotees encounter.
The sad incident that occurred last year is lingering in our minds and an introspection should be done to prevent recurrence. The management of the crowd, or more precisely the lack of it, has to be blamed for the tragedy. Such accidents were imminent in the Sannidhanam itself. Somebody exploding a cracker or a miscreant shouting “snake,” can cause commotion and a stampede in the area around the temple. In case of a terrorist strike, the death toll will not be limited to the impact of the explosive device, but many thousands may die in an unprecedented stampede. The metros are being frequently numbed by terrorist explosions and a similar strike in Sabarimala, God forbid, cannot be fully precluded. The calamity will be of an abominable magnitude because in several locations, the paths to disperse are steep valleys.
The number of devotees and vehicles reaching the base camps on a particular day has to be limited. The right of every devotee to prayer in serene precincts can be ensured if a few steps are meticulously observed.
Steps required
The following sequence will be understood only by devotees who have visited the temple at least once.
1. Allow advance booking for darshan. Specify the date and time (FN and AN). Booking may be allowed on the internet, coupled with payment through online banking. The task of making the required software (similar to the railway booking system) may be assigned to one of the software companies.
2. Those who plan well in advance may get the privilege of the date of choice. Booking may be allowed 90 days in advance and the cost of ticket may be fixed at Rs.100.
3. The ticket may be bar-coded. At the bottom of the ticket, a copy of the devotee's photo ID may be pasted (Voter ID, Pan Card, Student ID, passport or a working institutional ID). The identification number on these cards may be recorded while booking.
4. Exchange this ticket for another bar-coded and laminated entry permit which may be worn round the neck. This permit should display the date and FN or AN in bold letters on either side. While exchanging the ticket, the bar-coding on the ticket and the entry permit may be scanned on the computer.
5. Several exchange centres may be opened at locations such as the nearest railway stations, bus stations and Pampa. At any rate, the ticket should be exchanged before the devotee steps into the Pampa Ganapathy temple.
6. On either side of sacred passage (starting from the Ganapathy temple) only Devaswom authorities may run shops with the help of ad hoc volunteers.
7. The devotees with FN timings may be allowed to climb from Pampa by 2 a.m. so that they reach the main temple by 4 a.m.
8. A group of 10 devotees may be allowed 5 seconds in front of the sanctorum. This time may be slightly altered based on the crowd on a particular day. Thus, it is possible to organise darshan for one lakh people a day (if the temple is open for 14 hours).
9. The ghee-filled coconut may be broken in the place adjacent to the sanctum and the ghee allowed to fall into a wide container with pipes at the bottom so that it is simultaneously drawn by suction or by gravity for abhishekam to the Lord. For each coconut broken, the devotee may be supplied with a scoop of ghee coming out of a separate channel after abhishekam.
10. Other puja items brought as offerings to Ayyappa may be deposited in a large open vessel kept near the sanctorum.
11. The devotees may be guided to the Malikappuram temple and other sanctums where similar worshipping time may be allowed in a controlled fashion.
12. After the worship, the devotees may proceed to buy prasadams. The counters may be operated in keeping with the turnout so that no one will have to stand in queue for more than 5 minutes.
13. Those who have booked accommodation can proceed to that location through a special gate. Others can start their journey back after resting for a while. The new arrangement, by which the incoming and outgoing devotees are not allowed to intermingle (with the construction of a new bridge by the army) will help in controlling their movement. At any rate, the climbdown may start before 12 noon so that all devotees reach Pampa by 2 p.m.
14. Devotees with accommodation will not be allowed a second darshan.
15. The afternoon schedule may also be controlled similarly. The upward climb may begin by 2 p.m. for the temple opening at 4 p.m. The gap between the two sessions may be used for cleaning and detoxifying the holy path.
16. The income earned through the sale of entry ticket may be used for maintaining cleanliness on the holy path and ensuring availability of clean drinking water all along the route. Waste treatment and disposal also merit special attention.
17. The devotees who fail to get booking for the pilgrim season may opt for darshan in the beginning of each month.
In this description, separate queues for offering of ghee abhishekam and for paying obeisance to the Melshanthi (head priest) are done away in a bid to ease the crowd.
For all planning, it is possible that some may reach late. At least 5% of additional devotees may be allowed in a particular session by accepting a penalty while issuing the pass.
On several occasions, the government was contemplating widening the 18 steps (Pathinettampadi) so that more devotees may gain access to the Sannidhanam in a specific time. The number of devotees who can get access through the sanctum is determined by the width of the passage in front of the main temple. Since this part cannot be widened further, widening of the 18 steps will only add to the congestion.
There is an assurance from successive governments to develop Sabarimala by implementing a grand master plan which requires sanction from the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests. While this may take shape as a long-term measure, what is described in this article is viable for implementation at an early date.
(The writer's email ID is essarpe12@yahoo.co.in)
