Grossly inadequate vehicle parking facility, absence of a proper crowd management and sanitation system have been identified the major problems facing the pilgrims viisting the Palace town of Pandalam during the annual Mandalam-Makaravilakku pilgrim season.
Pandalam has been identified as a main base camp of Sabarimala pilgrims where scores of Ayyappa devotees from different parts of South India congregate on a daily basis for worshipping the sacred attire, Thiruvabharanam, at the palace strong room and to offer prayers at the adjoining Dharma Sastha Temple during the annual pilgrim season.
A good number of pilgrims, majority of them coming from the neighbouring States of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka an Puducherry and different parts of Kerala, have taken it a custom to visit Pandalam Palace too as part of their annual Sabarimala pilgrimage. However, neither the Travancore Devaswom Board nor the State Government appeared to have made proper arrangements to ensure adequate basic facility at this base camp, leaving the hapless Ayyappa devotees at the receiving end.
Vehicles parked on the wayside have been creating traffic bottlenecks near the Manikantan Althara junction on the on the MC Road.
Though the Sabarimala Sanitation Society has deployed 25 sanitation workers at Pandalam for cleaning drive during the pilgrim season, many devotees complained of unhygienic condition of the comfort stations on the banks of river Achenkovil.
Fleecing alleged
TDB has got two pilgrim shelters attached to the Sastha Temple which could provide dormitory accommodation to as many as 200 pilgrims. The Board has auctioned of the right to run the two pilgrim shelters and 27 toilets at Rs 2.60 lakh for a period of one year.
Though the TDB has fixed Rs 3 towards dormitory accomodation per person, it is alleged that the contractor used to fleece the pilgrims by charging as much as Rs 50 and even more than that from them during the rush days.
KTDC venture
The Kerala Tourism Development Corporation had constructed a wayside Pilgrim Amenity Centre on the banks of Achenkovil at Pandalam, spending Rs 1.35 crores way back in 2003, primarily aimed at catering to the needs of the pilgrims visiting Pandalam during the Sabarimala pilgrim season.
The centre that houses four bed rooms, dormitory, a spacious conference hall, well-equipped kitchen, lounge, 18 toilets and a sprawling courtyard has been leased out to a private party for running hotel business.
The local MLA, Chittayam Gopakumar and Mr M.Sukumara Pillai, veteran CPI leader and former Kerafed chairman who had taken the initiative to materialise the pilgrim tourism project, said Chief Minister, Oommen Chandy, should intervene in the issue and take immediate steps to provide better pilgrim facility there.
Mr Pillai said the Government should acquire a few acres of land lying fallow for the past several years behind a private school near the Manikantan Althara for setting up vehicle parking lots.
