The works department of the Travancore Devaswom Board and the Kerala Police will conduct a joint inspection of the queue complexes on the Marakkoottom-Saramkuthi path and the Valiya Nadappanthal at Sabarimala on Friday, exploring means to utilise all the six queue complexes for effective crowd management during the forthcoming Mandalam-Makaravilakku pilgrimage season.
TDB Chief Engineer V. Sankaran Potti told The Hindu that utilisation of the queue complexes was a must to regulate the crowd during the rush days of the pilgrim season.
He said Friday’s joint inspection would be of great help in addressing the flaws in the design and construction of the queue complexes well before the pilgrimage season.
The High Power Committee (HPC) for implementation of Sabarimala Maser Plan had constructed six queue complexes on the Saramkuthi path in 2015, spending ₹9 crore.
The HPC proposal was to facilitate passage of pilgrims from one segment to the other, so that they will not feel tired after a long wait for darshan. These queue complexes were supposed to house light refreshment stalls, toilets, drinking water kiosks, televisions etc. But, the police objected to the design of the complexes, saying that these six structures were not interconnected, raising security issues.
Iron barricades
The TDB had erected iron barricades inside the queue complexes as recommended by the police a year ago. Many experts said that the barricades would defeat the very purpose of facilitating ample space for the pilgrims to rest during their long wait for darshan. Both the police and the TDB had received flak for not utilising the six queue complexes constructed two years ago.
The joint inspection team would also discuss the ongoing renovation of the Valiya Nadappanthal. Additional Director General of Police Sudheeshkumar and Mr. Sankaran Potti are expected to take part in the inspection.