Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 30 With just over two weeks left for the annual Sabarimala pilgrimage season to begin, TDB president K Jayakumar on Friday assured pilgrims that there would be no shortage of Aravana prasadam, saying two lakh tins were being produced daily.
Speaking to reporters here after a board meeting, he said the newly constructed production unit would become operational on November 3 or 4, further increasing production capacity.
The board aims to build a buffer stock of 50-60 lakh tins of Aravana, a sweet offering made primarily from rice and jaggery, ahead of the 41-day Mandala pilgrimage season beginning on November 17, he said.
Production is currently under way round the clock, he added.
Jayakumar announced a new life insurance scheme in association with the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), under which the families of pilgrims who die at Sabarimala during the pilgrimage season would receive compensation of Rs 2 lakh each.
The entire premium would be borne by the Devaswom Board, he said, adding that this was the first time such life insurance coverage was being introduced for Sabarimala pilgrims.
He described the scheme as a landmark decision by the board and said the premium would be paid from the TDB Welfare Fund. The board was expected to spend around Rs 1 crore on the scheme during the pilgrimage season, he added.
The name and relationship of the nominee would be collected at the time of virtual queue booking.
The TDB president said reception desks would be set up at Nilakkal and Pampa to assist pilgrims.
Various infrastructure development works and arrangements for the annual pilgrimage were progressing, with maintenance and repair work at Sabarimala expected to be completed before November 10, he said.
On the proposed digitisation initiative being undertaken by the Travancore Devaswom Board, Jayakumar said the programme was being implemented directly by the board and that the role of the state-run KINFRA (Kerala Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation) in the project would be examined.
“We are taking precautions to ensure that the project does not go off track,” he said.
(PTI News)
