Thiruvananthapuram: Former Governor of Mizoram and senior BJP leader Kummanam Rajasekharan said what is happening in Sabarimala is crowd controlling and not crowd management. He was talking to media on the issues the devotees are facing in Sabarimala and what preventive measures the government should have taken for a comfortable and peaceful pilgrimage during this Mandalam season.
Kummanam said that every year there is a 30% increase in the number of devotees coming to Sabarimala. Despite this no precautionary measures were taken in the part of the government to accommodate the devotees this year. With the increase in the number of devotees, the revenue that is accumulating in the state treasury is also increasing. Hence, it is the duty of the Devaswom Board and the Kerala Police to arrange proper facilities to the devotees coming to Sabarimala.
In an exclusive interview with Janam English, Kummanam said the state government is trying to commercialise Sabarimala. The government ousted the organizations who were providing free food, water and other aids to the devotees. They want to bring in the other establishments were the devotees will be forced to pay for the food, water and other facilities. He said, Sabarimala which has Dharma Shasta as its deity belongs to its devotees.
He said that Pampa can accommodate many vehicles but the government is allowing only KSRTC to ply from Nilakkal to Pampa. It is the strategy of the government to collect more revenue to help KSRTC pay off its debts. But by doing this they are sidelining the distress of the devotees who have to wait in traffic in their vehicles at unknown places without food and water. KSRTC buses which are doing services in the Nilakkal-Pampa route is often overcrowded and the devotees are finding it difficult to reach Pampa and further to Sannidhanam on time.
Kummanam said that the government is conducting meetings only when the situation is dire in Sabarimala. But this crowd and other problems should have been anticipated by the government prior to the start of the Mandalam season. Taking preventive measures should have been their prority. He asked why the government is not taking the help of NDRF at Sabrimala. What is hurting their ego? He said the government is considering the Sabarimala issue as a prestige issue.
Through this, the government has proved their failure towards proper management of sensitive issues. There are even complaints that the Devaswom authorities and police are behaving rudely to pilgrims from other states. They are not even bothered how Kerala will be projected in front of the rest of the world as Sabarimala is a world renowned pilgrimage, said the senior BJP leader.
He also informed that he would be visiting Sabarimala with a team on December 14, 2023 to evaluate the current situation in Sabarimala.
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