A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court on Wednesday directed the Pathanamthitta District Collector to monitor the issues in connection with the Niraputhari festival at Sabarimala since an orange alert has already been declared for Pathanamthitta district. The Bench comprising Justice Anil K. Narendran and Justice P.G. Ajithkumar also ordered that in the event of exigencies, appropriate decisions shall be taken by the District Disaster Management Authority. Any decision taken by the authority regarding the imposition of restriction on entry of pilgrims shall be communicated to the Special Commissioner, Sabarimala; Executive Officer, Sabarimala; and also to the KSRTC.
The court also directed that the KSRTC shall provide a sufficient number of buses for the Nilackal-Pampa chain services depending upon the number of pilgrims and shall ensure that there is no overcrowding of passengers in the buses. The Superintendent of Police and the Circle Inspector of Police should ensure that no vehicles are parked on the side of the road from Nilackal to Pampa.
The court issued the order in a suo motu case registered on the basis of a newspaper report that a meeting convened by the Collector on August 2 had decided to ban pilgrims from entering the Pampa river at Pampa-Triveni and in other bathing ghats, with the Pampa remaining turbulent.
The government pleader submitted that the district administration, the Fire and Rescue Services, and the police had made arrangements for crowd management during the Niraputhari festival scheduled on August 4.
