Sabarimala: The Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) is all set to introduce a series of measures to manage the heavy rush of pilgrims expected during the upcoming Makaravilakku festival at Sabarimala.
Newly appointed Transport Minister K B Ganesh Kumar, who held a meeting at Pampa on Thursday to review transportation arrangements for devotees, said as many as 800 buses will ply across the State to clear the Makaravilakku rush.
Barricades will be erected at Pampa and Nilackkal to streamline the entry of devotees into stationary buses through the doors. “If a bus, which commences the journey from Pampa, is packed to capacity, it need not enter the Nilackkal bus stand. Otherwise, it needs to halt at Nilackkal to accommodate maximum persons,” the minister directed.
He also urged the devotees bound for Nilackkal to make use of the chain services as much as possible. Boards in different languages will be put up in and around Pampa to convey these messages to the pilgrims, besides making announcements.
The Minister, meanwhile, asked the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) to plug the potholes on the roads in Nilackkal. He also asked TDB to put an end to the current practice of preventing the onward journey of buses from Erumeli and Pathanamthitta to Pampa during rush hours.
“The traffic can be controlled only if the bus comes in and takes the pilgrims back from Pampa. In such situations, the police should provide an opportunity for the vehicle to proceed ahead with the help of the Motor Vehicle Department,” he said.
The Minister also promised to arrange resting places for the crew of long-distance buses operated by the Corporation, a long pending demand by the various employee unions. As part of the review meeting, the minister inspected the Elavunkal Safe Zone, Nilackkal, and Pampa KSRTC Bus Stand. MLAs Adv Pramod Narayan, Adv K U Janish Kumar, Transport Commissioner S Sreejith, DIG Thomson Jose, Assistant Transport Commissioner Pramoj Shankar, District Collector A Shibu, District Police Chief V Ajith, Sabarimala ADM attended the meeting.
Although the KSRTC Pampa depot has deployed 140 buses for operating its Nilackkal-Pampa chain service, boarding these buses from both ends has become a nightmare throughout the season in the absence of adequate officials to regulate the rush. The woes of devotees worsened when police blocked the traffic movement to ease the rush at Sannidhanam. This has led to chaos, especially at Nilackkal, affecting the seamless movement of people out of the pilgrimage zone.
