Sabarimala: Lack of check dams and scarcity of water may rob the devotees visiting the hill shrine of a holy dip in the sacred Pamba river.
The check dams were destroyed in the recent floods and the river bed level had risen due to accumulation of mud, and there is only ankle-deep water in the river.
Tata Projects Limited, engaged in rebuilding activities at Pampa, has removed substantial amount of mud from the river, and has also put sandbags to demarcate the area. The river bed is exposed when the temperature rises in the region.
The water resource department had built check dams at Sriramapadam, Triveni and Arattukadavu but these are now sunk in mud deposited by the deluge. No effort has been made yet to recover these check dams.
The Travancore Dewaswom Board is carrying out repair works to two blocks of the comfort station complex, near to the bridge at Triveni, which were damaged in the floods.
Repairs and removal of mud and stones are underway on the first floor but the ground floor is still in tatters.
Half of the multi-storey hotel, which was built as per the Sabarimala master plan at Pampa, had been destroyed. The damaged portion should be removed from the rest of the building but Tata Projects won’t be undertaking this task. The Dewaswom officials said that it could be a daunting task to literally slice the building into two with the pilgrimage season due to commence in a few days’ time. But they have chalked out plans to keep the pilgrims away from the damaged building.
Tiger scare for executive magistrates
Ranni: Executive magistrates, who were trekking downhill after the closure of Sabarimala temple, had a narrow escape from a tiger on Tuesday night. Tahsildars Vijaya Kumar (AR, Pathanamthitta), C R Somanadhan Nair (Mallapally), Deputy Tahsildar Ajayan and driver Vinod found themselves in front of a tiger between Marakoottam and Sabarimala temple. The tiger jumped from the forest onto their path near to the Chandranandan road. The group created a commotion to distract the tiger and ran towards Marakootam, and escaped.
