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Maximum facilities for pilgrims: VS

Review: Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan, along with his Cabinet colleagues, attending a meeting to review the arrangements being made for Sabarimala season at Pampa on Thursday.

PAMPA: Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan has said the State government will make all arrangements to provide maximum facilities to pilgrims visiting Sabarimala from different parts of the country.

Mr. Achuthanandan was addressing a high-level meeting held here on Thursday to review the arrangements being made by various government departments and the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) for the smooth conduct of the Mandalam-Makaravilaku season beginning Saturday.

He said the government expected a pilgrim flow of 3.5 crore to Sabarimala Sree Ayyappa Temple during the two-month annual pilgrim season. Eight unaided medical colleges, including those in the cooperative sector, have come forward to extend better medical care at Sabarimala.

He blamed the previous United Democratic Front (UDF) government for the current strike by government doctors in the State. He alleged that they were given a raw deal by the previous UDF government by fixing a pay scale even below that of Secretariat employees, forcing them to adopt the path of agitation. The Left Democratic Front government is helpless in revising the pay scales of doctors alone at this juncture as it would be against precedence. Pay revision is made only once in five years.

Devaswom Minister G. Sudhakaran said the Ayyappa Medical Centre of the Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences at Pampa would function as the main referral hospital in Sabarimala and those referred to the centre would be shifted to other hospitals after their condition stabilised.

Forest Minister Benoy Viswom, Health Minister P.K. Sreemathy, Public Works Minister Mons Joseph, Transport Minister Mathew T. Thomas, TDB president C.K. Gupthan, and Chief Secretary P.J. Thomas addressed the meeting.

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