Nilackal will become the base camp of Sabarimala and private vehicles will not be permitted to proceed to Pampa from the next Sabarimala pilgrimage season which begins on November 15.
A decision in this regard was made at a high-level meeting chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan here on Wednesday to discuss the post-flood reconstruction plan for Pampa.
The meeting decided to ban concrete construction in Pampa and start constructing two Bailey bridges for pilgrims and for transporting goods. Pilgrims would be transported on the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation buses from Nilackal to Pampa.
Bus service
The government would have to press 80 buses regularly for taking pilgrims from the base camp. Vandiperiyar and Erumeli would be the other two camps for pilgrims. Work on the bridges and buildings would be executed by an agency to be identified soon and would be completed under the supervision of an IAS officer.
The Travancore Devaswom Board is estimated to have incurred a loss of ₹100 crore since its buildings and bridges had been damaged and washed away in the flood. Since the festival commences on November 15, the board would try to complete the work within 60 days.
Since it does not have the paraphernalia for meeting the deadline, a decision was made for engaging an agency to execute the works with the support of the Kerala Water Authority and Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB). The Cabinet would take a call on the special officer to be designated for supervising the work and the TDB would give official nod to the decisions at a high-level meeting.
