The Hindu : Facilities for Ayyappa pilgrims to be improved

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Apr 20, 2002

Southern States

Southern States - Andhra Pradesh

Facilities for Ayyappa pilgrims to be improved

By Our Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD April 19. The Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) has launched an initiative to bridge the communication gap with pilgrims from AP, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu visiting the Swamy Ayyappa temple in Kerala about available facilities and environmental issues.

As a first step, it will pursuade Governments of these States to depute officials to Sabarimala to guide pilgrims in their respective languages and give instructions over the public address system about observing the code of conduct.

The TDB president, N. Babu, and Member of the Board, Charupara Ravi, called on the Chief Minister, N. Chandrababu Naidu, here on Friday to seek his Government's cooperation in conveying the instructions to pilgrims in AP through the Information Department's network. If possible, a cell could be set up for this purpose in Hyderabad, they said. Addressing a press conference, Dr. Babu said about 50 lakh devotees from the State visited the Dharma Sastha (Swamy Ayyappa) temple constituting the biggest chunk of 2.50 crore devotees coming there between November 16 and January 20. Their number was increasing by 10-15 per cent annually.

The heterogeneous nature of pilgrims posed a big problem in creating awareness on issues such as protecting the fragile environment because Sabarimala was located amid the Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary. On its part, the TDB was introducing a free `annadanam' scheme this year having banned plastic covers used by pilgrims for packing food. Highlighting other facilities arranged by the TDB for pilgrims on the trekking route from Pamba as also the steps to revive the vanishing temple arts, he said problems like high prices charged by shopkeepers and discourteous behaviour of temple staff towards pilgrims were being addressed.

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