A large number of pilgrims who reached Pampa to attend Wednesday’s Niraputhari celebrations at the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple could not proceed to the holy hillock owing to the swollen Pampa river.
The police blocked the pilgrims on the western bank of the Pampa on the directions of the district administration, as crossing the river involved high risks.
Meanwhile, temple chief priest (Tantri) Kandararu Maheswararu Mohanararu, Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) executive officer D. Sudheeshkumar, and other board staff who were diverted to Sabarimala via the Vallakkadavu-Pullumedu route got stranded at Pullumedu in the interior forests as they failed to reach the grasslands before sunset. Forest authorities had told the TDB authorities and District Collector on Monday to take necessary steps to reach the Tantri and his team at Upupara by 4 p.m. on Tuesday so that they could take the team to Sabarimala through the forest path before sunset.
The Tantri was taken to Uppupara only by 6.40 p.m., making their travel more risky.
The Tantri and his team were stationed at the forest camp at Pullumedu on Tuesday night and will not be able to perform the Niraputhari rituals to be held between 6 a.m. and 6.30 a.m. on Wednesday. Instead, Melsanthi A.V. Unnikrishnan Namboodiri will perform the rituals.
The Pampa has been witnessing fiery floods for the second time in the past two weeks. Many electric posts, storage tanks, and utensils were washed away in the floods. Toilet complexes at the Pampa Manalpuram were heavily silted. Kerala Water Authority lines were clogged due to the silt. The KWA pump house has been inundated, affecting the drinking water supply to the base camp at Pampa and Appachimedu.
Eateries at Nilackal, 20 km away from Pampa, were the lone solace for the pilgrims and the staff on duty at Pampa on Tuesday.
