The Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) has made elaborate arrangements to ensure trouble-free public transport system for the pilgrims returning from Sabarimala after the Makaravilaku darshan on January 14 evening.
Talking to The Hindu , the KSRTC Special Officer at Pampa M.V. Manoj said that the Corporation had arranged as many as 1,000 buses for extending transport facilities to the pilgrims on the Makaravilakku day.
According to him, 350 buses would be set apart exclusively to ply on the Pampa-Nilackal route and 650 others for operating long-distance services from Pampa on the Makaravilakku day.
Mr Manoj said special services would be made to Thiruvananthapuram, Kottarakkara, Chengannur, Pathanamthitta, Ernakulam, Kottayam, Ochira, Pandalam, Kayamkulam, Alappuzha, Guruvayur, Kozhikode, Sulthan Bathery, Erumeli, Kumili, and Ponnani on January 14 evening.
This is besides the inter-State services to Madurai, Coimbatore, Thenkasi, Palani, Kambom, and Theni. Assistant Special Officers T.V. Sanjeev, R. Prithviraj, and C.K. Radhakrishnan, are in charge of the operation of special services from Pampa.
Mr Manoj said a 24-hour control room (phone: 04735-203445 & 203446) had been functioning at the Pampa KSRTC depot ever since the beginning of the annual pilgrim season.
He said specially trained employees had been posted for the Sabarimala duty. The Corporation also deployed posted senior officials at Nilackal, Plappally, and at the U-Turn to ensure proper coordination and supervision of the public transport facility, he said.
Mobile workshop
Mr Manoj said the KSRTC had also deployed mobile workshop to meet any emergency situation at Pampa-Triveni, Chalakkayam, Attathode, Nilackal, Plappally, and Perinad.
He also said the KSRTC had deployed a total of 15 checking inspectors in four different squads between Pampa and Chengannur.
