The Travancore Devaswom Board stares at the prospect of a dip in revenue this year too with not many traders participating in e-tender for stalls and other commercial activities at Sabarimala for the coming Mandalam- Makaravilakku pilgrim season.
Devaswom Executive Officer at Sabarimala Rajendra Prasad said tender for only 58 items, out of 213, had been finalised as on Monday as traders were reluctant to take part in the e-tender. Mr. Prasad said there were very few takers for licence to run hotels at Pampa and the Sannidhanam, collection of broken coconuts, sale of coconuts, etc., through the e-tender invited by the TDB.
He said the board had suffered heavy financial loss as it failed to get the expected revenue by way of auctioning of spaces for commercial activities during the previous pilgrim season owing to the deluge that wreaked havoc in Pampa. The tension situation over the women’s entry issue and restrictions imposed by the police on pilgrim movement had hit the pilgrim flow last season.
The TDB auctioned off shops, hotels, and various commercial activities at Sabarimala, Nilackal, Pampa, and along the trekking path at ₹37.81 crore last November.
Sources said licensees had to remit half the auction money at the time of signing the agreement itself. However, the board was yet to receive the auction money arrears of ₹14.7 crore from the licensees of the last pilgrim season.
Unprecedented fall
The unprecedented fall in pilgrim turnout during the last Mandalam-Makaravilakku pilgrim season had hit the revenue of all commercial establishments at Sabarimala and Pampa.
The Sabarimala Vyapari Vyavasayi Ekopana Samiti (SVVES), an association of shop and hotel owners at Sabarimala, had moved the Kerala High Court seeking a directive to the TDB to reduce its auction money in view of the huge losses incurred by them.
