The Akhila Bharatha Ayyappa Seva Sanghom (ABASS) and the Sabarimala Ayyappa Seva Samajom (SASS) have stressed the importance of continuing the widely acclaimed Punyam Poonkavanam cleaning project launched by the Home Department at Sabarimala during the annual pilgrim season.
They were reacting to a letter written by Travancore Devaswom Board president Prayar Gopalakrihnan to the former Home Minister, Ramesh Chennithala, requesting the latter to bring the Punyam Poonkavanam project under the direct control of the Home Department.
Model project
Talking to The Hindu , ABASS general secretary N. Velayudhan Nair and SASS patron Kummanam Rajasekharan said the Punyam Poonkavanam was a model project that could attain wide acceptance among the Ayyappa devotees visiting Sabarimala in a short span of five years.
The project involved participation of devotees, including VIPs and even the high priests of the Ayyappa temple, in a one-hour cleaning programme at the Lower Tirumuttom of the Ayyappa temple from 9 a.m. every day during the annual Mandalam-Makaravilakku pilgrimage season.
The project turned out to be a big hit in due course as it encouraged maximum pilgrim participation in it.
The cleaning drive also helped a lot in making the devotees responsible for keeping Sabarimala clean and hygienic.
The ABASS and SASS also launched the cleaning campaign at various base camps of Sabarimala pilgrims in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Telengana.
Collective responsibility
The ABASS general secretary said the project had send a message of collective responsibility among the pilgrims, the staff on duty, and the TDB for keeping Sabarimala clean and hygienic.
The police department maintained high level of transparency in running the programme and not even a single paise had been collected in its name.
