Sabarimala: The Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) will introduce more buses for the Nilakkal-Pampa service to ease the travel woes of Sabarimala pilgrims.
The decision was taken after a devotee approached the Kerala High Court pointing out the difficulties in boarding buses while returning from the Lord Ayyappa Temple at Sabarimala.
Initially, 10 additional buses will reach Nilakkal from various KSRTC depots in the state for conducting the Pampa service. If there is a significant increase in passengers, more buses will be introduced by mid-December. Currently, 169 low-floor buses, including 40 AC vehicles, are deployed for the Nilakkal-Pampa service.
Devotees have also demanded more ticket counters at Nilakkal and Pampa considering the long queues. Under the existing arrangement, devotees have to purchase tickets before boarding the bus. With a mere 10 ticket counters functioning at present, devotees are forced to wait upto 45 minutes in the queue to get into a bus.
Meanwhile, four of the buses have gone for repairs. Two of them broke windshields after separate collisions.
