Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 18 Keralam Devaswom Minister K Muraleedharan on Sunday expressed dissatisfaction with the Devaswom Board’s preparations for the upcoming annual Sabarimala pilgrimage season.
The minister’s remarks came a day after he and Chief Minister V D Satheesan visited the various places associated with the Sabarimala pilgrimage to review preparations and facilities for the upcoming season.
After the review meeting, the CM said that all arrangements related to temple rituals and prasadam were under the control of the Devaswom Board, and its president has assured that there will be no shortage of prasadam or other facilities at the shrine.
On Sunday, Muraleedharan told a TV channel that repair and renovation of the plant manufacturing the ‘aravana payasam’ prasadam has not been completed yet.
He also said that there was an apparent lack of coordination between the Board and the police with regard to crowd control.
The minister said that his two main concerns were regulating the large number of devotees who arrived for the pilgrimage and ensuring a sufficient supply of ‘appam’ and ‘aravana’ for the pilgrims.
‘Aravana’ — a thick, sweet dessert made from red rice, jaggery, ghee, cardamom powder, and ginger powder — and ‘appam’ — a traditional sweet rice cake/fritter made with ingredients like rice and jaggery — are the two primary ‘prasadam’ at the Lord Ayyappa shrine at Sabarimala.
“I am not completely satisfied with the steps being taken to ensure the prasadam sufficiency. The contract for the rice has not yet been finalised by the Board. I have been told that the repair and renovation of the plant will be completed by November 5 and production will be started,” Muraleedharan said.
He said that he has told the Board to give specific attention to these issues.
The minister said that 29,000 devotees reached the shrine on Saturday ahead of the commencement of the ‘Thula masam’ puja on Sunday and currently there were two lakh aravana in stock.
“I have told the Board to take extra care regarding the matter up to October 22 (when the shrine will close again). After that, they have to ensure things are much better,” he said.
The Sabarimala shrine will be open for five days during the ‘Thula masam’ — the third month in the traditional Malayalam calendar — from October 18 to October 22.
Muraleedharan also said that there was a delay in the completion of temple maintenance works.
“The government is doing all that has to be done,” he added.
Later, Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) president K Jayakumar told reporters at Sabarimala that five vending machines have been set up for distribution of ‘aravana’.
“Devotees can put the money in it and collect the aravana without having to stand in the queue. We have 3.2 lakh tins of aravana in stock, and we are producing around 1.5 lakh tins per day. After October 25, the second plant will also be operational, and then we will be able to produce 3.5 lakh tins per day,” he said.
Similar arrangements will be there during the pilgrimage season, he said, adding that there would be no shortage of aravana.
“All items related to the vazhipadu have been contracted, and they are being brought to the shrine,” he claimed.
The TDB president said that contracts for shops this year were entered into for 11 months so that the premises are vacated before the Thula masam next year.
Regarding the coordination with the police on crowd control, Jayakumar said that when devotees arrive in large numbers, the coordination may be affected, but it will be addressed.
He also said that there is no booking charge and it is free.
“If someone wants to donate anything for pilgrim welfare, they can donate a minimum of Rs five,” he said.
Jayakumar further said that around 70 per cent of the maintenance work at the shrine has been completed and the rest will be finished soon.
“There are no concerns regarding that,” he said.
The Sabarimala Sree Dharma Sastha Temple will open on November 17 for the 41-day Mandalam pilgrimage season.
(PTI News)
