The ‘pavement mafia’ atop the sacred town has once again turned active posing a grave threat to the security of the hill temple.
While several displaced families—who lost their properties under the Land Acquisition Act promulgated by the TTD as part of its ambitious master plan, still languish in penury despite a lapse of more than one decade—unauthorised hawkers and vendors are rather engaged in spinning easy money.
Call it the callous attitude of the authorities or the hand-in-glove working of the security forces, the unlicensed pedlars make their presence felt at all the vital points where the congregation of the pilgrims is heavy thus disrupting the movement of the pilgrims.
Any voice questioning the illegal trade is silenced with wads of currency notes. Huge amounts running into lakhs of rupees, it is alleged, are being paid to the authorities every month for allowing them to run businesses. Worsening the situation, a couple of trustees of the erstwhile TTD board have also started patronising the illegal trade. While the lower staff are paid mamool (daily) the middle level are paid hapthas (weekly) and the main sponsors nelasari (monthly).
The second Vaikuntam complex meant for the ordinary pilgrims, Central Reception Office (CRO), Akhilandam have always proved a perfect breeding ground for the traffickers in addition to other TTD establishments.
The Srivari mettu footpath leading to the town of late has turned into a haven for unauthorised pedlars. The trekking route in recent years shot into fame with the TTD making the Divya darshan tokens available half-way on the pathway. There is also a big increase in the number of pilgrims taking the route to reach the town as it is facile and shortest in terms of distance.
Lack of proper supervision along the route has also turned it into a domicile for elements selling snacks, water bottles and aerated drinks at exorbitant rates. The route also serves as a grey area for the smugglers to foray into the red sanders rich Seshachalam forests.
It is high time that the management takes a pragmatic approach to curbing the growing menace which, if neglected, is certain to pose a threat to the security of the hill temple.