The Department of Disaster Management has directed the District Collector, Pathanamthitta, to identify land for the establishment of permanent Emergency Operations Centres (EOCs) at Nilackal, Pampa and the Sannidhanam to streamline disaster preparedness and calamity response for the Sabarimala pilgrim centre.
The Crisis Management Plan (CMP) for the Sabarimala pilgrimage recommends the development of a helipad for emergency evacuation and medical transport.
The plan, prepared by the Institute of Land and Disaster Management (ILDM), proposes an alternative route for mass evacuation from the Sannidhanam (hill top) in the event of an emergency and the creation of more open space for crowd absorption and safe assembly.
Pilgrim registration
A registration system for pilgrims and the establishment of a ropeway for transporting material between the Sannidhanam and Pampa are other major recommendations for the next pilgrimage season. “The CMP is a dynamic document that will be updated every year,” says Sekhar L. Kuriakose, Head, State EOC and member, Kerala State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA).
For the current season, three control rooms were opened at the Sannidhanam, Apachimedu and Nilackal and an EOC set up at Pampa. The EOC and control rooms were linked via hotline, SMS modem, Ham Radio and VHF radio with the District EOC, Pathanamthitta and the State EOC.
Crowd control
Equipped with high-resolution satellite images of the area where pilgrims congregate, the EOC was tasked with activating the Standard Operating Procedures for stampede prevention in the event of the crowd exceeding a critical threshold. The pilgrim threshold for the Sannidhanam was set at 2,00,000 at a given time, after which the inflow of pilgrims to Pampa would be regulated.
A manual counting method was established to keep a tab on the movement of pilgrims through Swamy Ayyappan Road and at the Sannidhanam every one hour and the crowd status was paged to 15 designated officers. More than 25 Ham Radio operators were used for crowd status assessment and collection of ground information.
The KSDMA also worked closely with the Karnataka SDMA which deputed doctors and police personnel at Sabarimala. This association has been working well for the last two years, points out Mr. Sekhar. The EOC and the control rooms will remain active till noon on Thursday.
Crisis management plan proposes alternative route for evacuation.
