Left govt 'deliberately mismanaging' Sabarimala pilgrimage, alleges UDF

Thiruvananthapuram, Nov 19 (PTI) The Opposition Congress-led UDF on Wednesday accused the Left government in Kerala of "deliberately mismanaging" the annual Sabarimala pilgrimage, which began earlier this week.

Leader of the Opposition V D Satheesan said pilgrims were forced to stand in queues for up to 18 hours for darshan due to "failed crowd management".

He also cited a shortage of drinking water, uncleaned toilets, and difficulties faced by devotees due to pollution in the Pamba River.

"The government, which showed fake devotion to Lord Ayyappa by conducting the Global Ayyappa Sangamam and plundering the deity's gold, is now deliberately trying to mess up the pilgrimage season in Sabarimala," he alleged.

Satheesan was addressing reporters in the presence of prominent UDF leaders.

"The government should take serious measures to regulate and address all these issues. Otherwise, a UDF delegation will visit Sabarimala," he said.

Pointing to concerns raised by K Jayakumar, the newly appointed president of the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB), Satheesan said the situation at Sabarimala was on the verge of a stampede on Tuesday due to the indiscriminate inflow of devotees.

Nearly two lakh pilgrims arrived at the Lord Ayyappa shrine within 48 hours of the temple opening for the annual ‘mandala-makaravilakku’ season, and the TDB and police struggled to manage the heavy rush, including children.

Satheesan said the "lack of coordination between various departments and inadequate preparedness" had led to the situation.

He also claimed that a proper investigation into the Sabarimala 'gold theft' case would put the present Devaswom minister, his predecessor, and three former TDB presidents behind bars.

It was during the tenure of this government that the "shocking news of the theft" at Sabarimala emerged, he added.

The 'stolen' items included the door of the sanctum sanctorum, its frames, and the Dwarapalaka (guardian) sculptures.

A fake mould of the Dwarapalaka sculpture was created, and the original was sold to wealthy individuals, he alleged, adding that the mould was then coated with gold and placed back in the temple.

"All of this happened in 2019. The theft took place with the knowledge of the then Devaswom Board presidents, the Devaswom Minister, and other political leaders," he alleged.

Despite being aware of these incidents, the previous Devaswom Board also attempted to shift the Dwarapalaka sculptures outside the premises in violation of the law, he claimed.

Later in the day, the BJP leadership also said it would soon send a party delegation to Sabarimala to assess the situation.

BJP National Executive Committee member P K Krishnadas alleged that lakhs of devotees arriving at the shrine were facing "severe human rights violations." He also questioned Devaswom Minister V N Vasavan’s alleged absence in coordinating the temple’s affairs during the annual pilgrimage.

Krishnadas said efforts were underway to ensure intervention by the Central government in matters related to Sabarimala.

Meanwhile, TDB officials said nearly three lakh devotees have had darshan at Sabarimala since the hill temple opened for the 'mandalam–makaravilakku' pilgrimage on Sunday evening.

A total of 2,98,310 pilgrims arrived until 5 pm on November 19.

The TDB said daily arrivals ranged from over 53,000 on November 16 to nearly 99,000 the next day, before easing to around 81,000 on November 18 and 64,000 on November 19 (till 5 pm). PTI LGK SSK