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Thiruvananthapuram, November 18 (IANS) Senior Congress leaders KC Venugopal, Ramesh Chennithala and former Kerala BJP president K. Surendran criticized the Pinarayi Vijayan-led government over what he described as a “serious administrative collapse” at Sabarimala barely a few days into the annual Mandala season.
While Congress leaders alleged that the government and the Travancore Devaswom Board were so busy protecting the accused in the gold smuggling case that they neglected vital preparations for the pilgrimage, causing chaos and hardship for millions of Ayyappa devotees, Surendran said they chose neglect rather than planning.
AICC general secretary Venugopal said the current “appalling situation”, as described by Devaswom Board Chairman K. This, Jayakumar admitted, is a direct result of the government’s negligence and mismanagement.
He blamed the authorities for failing to deploy adequate police personnel, crowd control systems, medical aid, drinking water, sanitation and transport facilities.
Instead, Venugopal alleged, their focus remained on political damage control and “covering up the gold heist”.
Expressing similar sentiments, veteran MLA Chennithala said that within 24 hours of the beginning of the pilgrimage season, government systems have completely collapsed.
“Thousands of devotees were forced to wait in queues for 15 to 20 hours, many of whom returned without having darshan due to overcrowding and lack of infrastructure,” Chennithala said.
He pointed out that despite more than one lakh bookings through the virtual queue system, the crowd management system was grossly inadequate.
Even the central security forces traditionally deployed at Sabarimala were absent this year, he said.
Chennithala further alleged that during the two terms of the Pinarayi Vijayan government, Sabarimala never witnessed a peaceful pilgrimage.
He said, “First, they damaged the sanctity of the temple through the women’s entry controversy, then through the theft of gold. Now, sheer administrative apathy has once again put pilgrims in danger.”
Both Congress leaders called for immediate High Court intervention, demanding the appointment of an expert committee to oversee the temple administration.
He also urged the Chief Minister to personally intervene to ensure the safety, dignity and spiritual rights of lakhs of Ayyappa devotees.
Surendran said, “The communist regime has reduced Sabarimala to misery. Devotees, including children, stand for hours in never-ending queues without basic amenities like water or toilets. The government had enough time but chose to neglect rather than plan. This is clearly a violation of human rights and gives the impression of deliberate sabotage of the holy pilgrimage.”
However, new TDB chairman Jayakumar, after reviewing the situation with top police officials, said they are committed to providing a more pilgrim-friendly experience through better coordination, upgrading of infrastructure and better crowd management.
Jayakumar said, “Measures have been strengthened to ensure that pilgrims reaching Pampa can get a smooth and speedy darshan without waiting for long hours. The flow of crowd from Nilakkal will be controlled to prevent crowding. 20 queue complexes are operational between Markoottam and Saramkuthy, each equipped to accommodate 500 to 600 pilgrims at a time. These complexes will be equipped with essential facilities like water and food. Arrangements have been made to provide space for rest.”
–IANS
SG/UK