Kerala government failed to ensure basic facilities at Sabarimala: Ayyappa Seva Sangham

PATHANAMTHITTA: Akhila Bharatha Ayyappa Seva Sangham, one of the largest organisations of Ayyappa devotees, alleged that it had repeatedly warned authorities about the need for robust crowd management well before the pilgrimage season began. In the light of heavy rush at Sabarimala as soon as the pilgrim season began, they alleged that the government was busy with damage control over the gold theft controversy and failed to address the basic requirements at Sabarimala. Pointing out that several devotees reportedly had to stand in the queue for over 10 hours without water and food, the Sangham claimed that they and several other long-standing service organisations were barred from distributing free snacks and food to pilgrims, a practice they said they had carried out for decades. Not just our Sangham, but several organisations including the Amritanandamayi Math and Subramanya Religious Trust were also prevented from offering services to pilgrims. With all service groups blocked, there is no organisation left to support pilgrims, alleged Ayyappa Seva Sangham general secretary D Vijayakumar. According to him, the Devaswom Board has very limited staff who are not equipped to handle such massive crowds, whereas Ayyappa Seva Sangham had been providing round-the-clock free food to devotees, police personnel, and staff at Sannidhanam for years. In the nadapanthal, devotees are standing in dangerously packed lines. If a toddler falls, another will step over him.. thats how risky the situation is, he said. The new Devaswom Board president has been appointed only after the system collapsed under the previous board. The previous officials are responsible for the current situation. The Kerala government should implement a centralised system similar to Tirupati. The issue is not the increasing number of devotees, its the failure to ensure smooth darshan. The Sangham warned that, from December 1 to 5 tens of thousands of Telugu-speaking devotees traditionally arrive in large numbers.