With a view to offer maximum convenience to Sabarimala pilgrims who are expected to halt in the city on their way to the hill shrine, the city Corporation has announced a slew of measures, including stringent parking restrictions inside the Fort area and strict monitoring of food quality in local eateries during the pilgrimage seasons.
Mayor K. Chandrika told a press conference here on Wednesday that parking around the Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple would be restricted to small vehicles and that too to vehicles with the required permit. The movement of heavy vehicles inside the Fort area would be completely banned, she said. Three hundred wardens would be posted in the Fort area to regulate the flow of traffic.
Pilgrims or others would not be allowed to sleep on the footpath or by the side of roads inside the Fort area. No unauthorised constructions would be allowed between the North Gate of the temple and the Padmatheertham pond and on the walkway near the pond.
Only those families who have traditionally opened wayside eateries for pilgrims would be allowed to do so this season.
The Attukal Bhagavathy temple ground has been designated as the parking lot for vehicles bringing Sabarimala pilgrims to the city. Temporary toilets would be erected in the area and additional water lines laid. A technical team of the Kerala Water Authority would study the feasibility of laying additional water lines to the parking lot. A special meeting of the office-bearers of the Attukal Temple Trust and people's representatives would be called to discuss this in a more detailed manner, she said.
Streetlights would be installed around the Padmanabhaswamy temple. Special attention would be given in this regard to the North Gate-Padmatheertham stretch. Any vehicles and trailers parked in the road leading to the North gate would be removed.
Aid posts
A public announcement system would be installed at the Attukal temple ground. Police aid posts would be set up at Attukal, the Eastern gate of the Padmanabhaswamy temple and near the office of the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation in the fort area.
A special health squad would be created by the corporation to check the quality of food being served to Sabarimala pilgrims.
Hotels and eateries would be instructed to prominently display the price list of food items. The sale of intoxicants, including pan masala, in the vicinity of the Padmanabhaswamy temple would be banned as would be the sale of plastic bags.
Parking would be allowed only on one side of the road leading to the Ganapathy temple at Pazhavangadi. The corporation would consider the possibility of allowing 12 wayside traders evicted from near the Padmanabhaswamy temple on security grounds to once again set up shop in the area, she said.
This is for the first time that the corporation had drawn up such an elaborate package to handle the large influx of Sabarimala pilgrims to the city, she added.
