The Lord Ayyappa Temple at Sabarimala on Saturday witnessed a moderate rush as a good number of pilgrims turned up for the weekend holiday to undertake their annual pilgrimage.
Many pilgrims, including children and the elderly, trekked the holy hills braving the rain in the forest in the afternoon. Saturday being an auspicious day for the presiding deity, Dharma Sastha aka Ayyappa, pilgrims used to reach the temple in large numbers usually.
However, the protests staged by Sangh Parivar organisations against the reported move by certain woman activists to visit the temple on the basis of a Supreme Court order permitting entry for all women have cut the flow of pilgrims drastically this season.
The Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) has been experiencing unprecedented fall in its revenue owing to the lean pilgrim flow.
Punyam Poonkavanam
Justice C.T. Ravikumar of the Kerala High Court, accompanied by the Special Commissioner appointed by the High Court, took part in the Punyam Poonkavanam cleaning drive at the Sannidhanam on Saturday.
Mr. Ravikumar said each pilgrims visiting Sabarimala was bound to ensure their contribution and cooperation for the safe disposal of the waste generated at the hill. Waste disposal should be taken very much a part of devotion to Ayyappa, he said.
Mr. Ravikumar said India could be made a holy land, if the people took waste disposal their daily routine.
Volunteers of the Akhila Bharatha Ayyappa Seva Sanghom (ABASS), Ayyappa Seva Samajom, personnel of the Rapid Action Force and National Disaster Response Force attached to the CRPF, and various other staff on duty at the Sannidhanam took part in the hour-long cleaning drive.
The waste collected was moved to the garbage yard at Paandithavalom for its segregation and safe disposal.